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BREWSTER 
SHIP    MASTERS 


BY 
J.    Henry     Sears. 


With     Foreword    J3y     Joseph      C.     Lincoln, 
Author  of  "Cape  Cod  Ballads,"  "Cap'n  Eri." 

TOGETHER     WITH 

A  Chapter  in  Reminiscence  J3y  Joseph  H.  Sears. 


YARflOUTHPORT,  flASS.: 
C.  W.  SWIFT.  PUBLISHER. 
19O6. 


Copyright,  1906, 
BY  CHARLES  W.  SWIFT. 


N, 


2040380 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


OPPOSITE  PAGE 

Ship  «  Ellen  Sears."  2 

960  tons.  Built  in  East  Dennis,  1864.  Sailed  from 
San  Francisco,  1867,  for  Liverpool,  and  was  never 
heard  from.  Commanded  by  J.  F.  Bartlett,  who 
was  first  officer  of  ship  "  Wild  Wave  "  with  Captain 
J.  F.  Knowles,  when  she  was  lost  on  Oeno,  February, 
1858.  From  a  painting  now  in  possession  of  J.  Henry 
Sears. 

Ship  "  Ten  Brothers."  10 

231  tons  register.  Built  at  Sullivan.  Maine,  1810. 
Type  of  vessel  of  that  time.  Commanded  by  Elijah 
Cobb,  Freeman  Foster,  David  Niekerson,  From  a 
painting  in  possession  of  Mrs.  C.  A.  Bradley. 

Brig  «  Carib."  12 

200  tons.  Built  about  1825.  Commanded  by  David 
Nickerson.  From  a  painting  in  possession  of  H. 
Sears  Hoyt  of  New  York. 

Ship  "  Imperial."  18 

1331  tons.  Built  at  Quincy,  Massachusetts,  1869. 
Converted  into  a  coal  barge,  1894.  Lost  on  Barnegat 
Shoal,  New  Jersey,  1896.  The  figure-head  was  taken 
off  when  she  was  made  into  a  coal  barge  and  is  now 
mounted  upon  a  pedestal  near  the  shore  in  Brewster. 
Commanded  by  James  E.  Crosby. 

Ship  "  Ocean  King."  22 

Built  at  Kennebunk,  Maine,  in  1874.  2516  tons 
register.  The  first  four-masted  ship  built  in  this 


Index,. 

OPPOSITE  PAGE 

country  and  one  of  the  largest  at  the  time.  Aban- 
doned at  sea  on  fire  on  her  passage  from  Puget  sound 
to  San  Francisco,  May,  1887.  Commanded  by  Captain 
William  Freeman,  but  he  was  not  in  her  when  she 
was  lost.  From  a  painting  in  possession  of  Captain 
Freeman. 

Ship  «  W.  B.  Dinsmore."  26 

1075  tons.  Built  at  Bath,  Maine,  1864.  Abandoned 
at  sea  on  fire,  1870,  while  on  her  passage  from  Cardiff 
to  Bombay.  Commanded  by  Captain  N.  F.  Foster. 
From  a  painting  belonging  to  Brewster  Ladies'  library. 

Ship  "Faneuil  Hall."  46 

547  tons.  Built  at  Medford  in  1846.  Lost  off  the 
coat  of  Brazil  in  1866.  Masters  at  different  times 
were  Elisha  Bangs,  Joseph  H.  Sears,  Freeman  H. 
Bangs,  Barna  C.  Foster,  J.  Henry  Sears. 

Ship  "  Titan."  48 

2360  tons.  Built  at  New  York  in  1854.  Abandoned 
at  sea,  March,  1859,  on  the  passage  from  Callao  to 
London.  Commanded  by  J.  Henry  Sears.  From  an 
oil  painting  now  in  possession  of  the  Bostonian 
society,  of  Boston. 

Ship"Konohassett."  50 

520  tons.  Built  about  1840.  Commanded  by  Captain 
Jonathan  Foster.  From  a  painting  in  possession  of 
II.  E.  Foster. 


Ship  "  Monsoon." 

About  300  tons.  Built  previous  to  1795.  Com- 
manded by  Captain  Elijah  Cobb  and  Captain  David 
Nickerson.  Type  of  ship  of  that  period.  From  a 
painting  in  possession  of  Miss  C.  A.  Dugan. 


Index. 

OPPOSITE  PAGE 

Ship  "Glory  of  the  Seas."  58 

2120  tons.  Built  by  Donald  McKay  at  East  Boston 
in  1869.  Now  lying  in  the  harbor  of  San  Francisco, 
no  paying  business  being  available.  Commanded  at 
different  times  by  Captain  E.  F.  Sears  and  Captain 
J.  N.  Knowles  and  Captain  Joshua  Freeman.  This 
photograph  is  from  an  oil  painting  now  in  possession 
of  H.  J.  Knowles.  It  represents  the  ship  entering 
the  harbor  of  San  Francisco  after  her  famous  passage 
of  95  days  from  New  York. 

Steam  Tug  "Anglo-Norman."  78 

Built  for  the  purpose  of  towing  ships  from  mouth  of 
the  Mississippi  river  to  New  Orleans.  Exploded  on 
the  trial  trip  three  miles  above  the  city  in  1850. 

Brig  «  Margaret."  60 

About  250  tons.  Type  of  vessel  built  in  1830. 
Commanded  by  Captain  Solomon  Freeman.  From  a 
painting  in  possession  of  Mrs.  O.  C.  Winslow. 


Index. 
PORTRAITS. 


OPPOSITE  PAGE 

Bangs,  Elisha  *> 

Bangs,  Elkanah  1<> 
Berry,  Benjamin  F. 

Clark, Isaac  10 

Cobb,  Elijah  14 

Crosby,  Tully  24 

Foster,  Freeman  30 

Freeman,  Solomon  34 

Freeman,  William  36 

Hopkins,  Reuben  38 

Knowles,  Josiah  N.  40 

Knowles,  Winslow  L.  42 

Mayo,  Jeremiah  62 

Nickerson,  David  66 

Nickerson,  Frederic  68 

Nickerson,  Joseph  70 

Sears,  Elisha  F.  72 

Sears,  J.  Henry  74 

Sears,  Joseph  H.  76 


FOREWORD. 


JBy  sport  of  bitter  weather 

We're  icalty,  strained  and  scarred 
From  the  kentledge  on  the  kelson 

To  the  slings  upon  the  yard. 
Six  oceans  had  their  will  of  us 

To  carry  all  away  — 
Our  galley 's  in  the  Baltic, 

And  our  boom 's  in  Mossel  bay  ! 

— KIPLING,  "  The  Merchantmen." 

BEFORE  noon  of  a  day  in  October,  1849,  Henry  David 
Thoreau,  author  and  nature-lover,  quitted  the  Cape  Cod  train 
at  what  was  at  that  time  the  railroad  terminus  at  Sandwich 
and  took  "that  almost  obsolete  conveyance,  the  stage,  for 
'  as  far  as  it  went  that  day,'  as  we  told  the  driver."  "As 
far  as  it  went  that  day,"  was,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  as  far  as  the 
down-the-Cape  stage  from  Sandwich  went  on  any  other  day, 
and  that  was  as  far  as  the  Higgins  tavern  in  Orleans.  It  is 
probable  that  the  driver  was  Mr.  Higgins  himself  and,  if  so, 
that  he  wore  his  carefully  brushed  silk  hat  and  passed  it 
about  among  his  passengers  as  a  depository  for  their  fares. 
That  this  was  Mr.  Higgins's  regular  custom,  the  writer  believes, 
because  his  grandmother  used  to  tell  him  so,  just  as  she  told 
him  the  story  of  Moses  in  the  bulrushes,  and  of  the  wonderful 
sagacity  of  Capt.  Barney  Paine's  little  schooner,  the  Boston 
packet,  which,  being  lost  in  the  bay  during  a  violent  storm  and 
with  a  broken  compass,  stranded  on  the  flats  directly  opposite 
her  skipper's  home  in  Brewster,  thus  proving  that  "she  knew 
her  way  home  all  by  herself." 

At  any  rate,  Mr.  Thoreau,  as  passenger  in  the  stage,   was 


vi  JJrewster  Ship  Masters. 

driven  that  day  through  Barnstable,  Yarmouth  and  Dennis, 
until  "late  in  the  afternoon  we  rode  through  Brewster,  BO 
named  after  Elder  Brewster,  for  fear  he  would  be  forgotten 
else.  *  *  *  This  appeared  to  be  the  modern-built  town 
of  the  Cape,  the  favorite  residence  of  retired  sea  captains.  It 
is  said  that  'there  are  more  masters  and  mates  of  vessels  which 
sail  on  foreign  voyages  belonging  to  this  place  than  to  any 
other  town  in  the  country.' " 

Thoreau  did  not  like  Brewster,  principally,  it  appears, 
because  of  the  prevalence  of  "modern  American  houses"  and 
the  evidences  of  thrift  and  prosperity.  He  did  not  alight 
there,  but  went  on  to  spend  the  night  at  the  Higgins  tavern 
in  the  next  town.  Therefore,  Brewster  missed  the  opportunity 
of  figuring  prominently  in  the  Thoreau  book,  "Cape  Cod," 
and  that  book,  so  we  of  Brewster  heritage  believe,  lacks  just 
so  much  of  deep  sea  flavor  and  local  color.  There  was  more 
of  Cape  Cod  than  the  odd  characters,  the  poverty-grass  and 
the  sand  dunes,  that  the  hermit  of  Lake  Walden  found  in  '49, 
and  more  than  the  magnificent  beaches  and  inspiring  ocean 
views,  which  attract  the  summer  resident  today. 

And  Brewster,  before  and  after  Thoreau's  transitory  visit, 
was  "  the  modern-built  town  of  the  Cape."  Its  streets  were 
shaded  with  fine  old  trees,  its  houses  were  large  and  substan- 
tial and  the  men  who  built  and  owned  them  were  large  and 
substantial,  too.  They  made  their  fortunes — fortunes  that 
were  the  beginnings  of  bigger  ones  for  their  descendants 
in  Boston,  New  York  and  many  another  city — by  sailing  over 
pretty  nearly  all  the  wet  places  on  the  earth's  surface  and 
bargaining  and  risking  and  daring,  with  Yankee  shrewdness 
and  Yankee  bravery. 

Sea  captains?  Why,  there  were  none  but  sea  captains, 
or  the  wives  and  children  of  sea  captains,  in  Brewster  of  old. 
When  the  writer  was  a  Brewster  boy,  in  the  70's,  the 
American  merchant  marine  was  on  the  wane,  but  even  then 
it  was  practically  certain  and  safe  to  hail  an  adult  Brewster 


JSreicster  Ship  Masters.  vii 

citizen  by  the  title,  "Cap'n."  Cap'n  Snow  kept  the  village 
grocery,  Cap'n  Foster  was  chairman  of  selectmen,  Cap'n 
Baker  endowed  the  library,  Cap'n  Nickerson's  donation 
repaired  and  painted  the  meeting-house,  and  of  that  meeting- 
house, deacons  and  pew  holders,  sexton  and  choir-leader, — 
indeed,  every  male  but  the  minister  himself,  was  captain. 

In  the  40's  and  50's  the  young  man  born  in  Brewster, 
who  did  not  go  to  sea  as  soon  as  his  schooling  was  complete, 
was  a  shiftless  no-account,  unfit  to  associate  with  the 
aristocracy.  His  comrades  shipped  as  cabin-boys,  under 
Brewster  captains  of  their  fathers'  acquaintance  and  with 
Brewster  mates  and  many  Brewster  members  of  the  crew, 
studied  navigation,  and,  at  ages  ranging  from  twenty-one  to 
twenty-five,  became  captains  themselves.  Later  they  intended 
to  become  ship-owners,  with  offices  in  Boston  or  New  York 
and  with  property  afloat  on  every  sea.  Some  day  they  were  to 
come  back  to  Brewster,  build  fine  houses  and  settle  down  at 
ease,  while  their  own  sons  took  up  the  work. 

In  the  old  Brewster  houses  were  ivory  carvings  and  Japanese 
silk  hangings,  sandal-wood  boxes  and  alabaster  images  of  the 
Coliseum  and  the  Leaning  Tower  at  Pisa.  On  each  side  of 
the  grand,  unused  front  doors  were  mammoth  seashells  of 
curious  shapes.  In  the  closets,  usually,  were  boxes  of  other 
shells  picked  up  on  tropic  beaches  or  purchased  in  the  bazaars 
of  Calcutta  or  Mauritius.  The  children  of  the  household  had 
these  shells  for  playthings.  The  "  box  of  shells  "  still  lingers 
in  many  a  gray-haired  youngster's  memory. 

The  stories  by  the  fire,  the  gossip  at  the  postoffice  or  at  the 
breakfast  table,  were  all  of  the  sea  —  salty.  Nearly  every 
family  had  at  least  one  member  afloat  and  letters  came  at 
intervals  with  queer  foreign  stamps,  and  news  months  old,  to 
be  read  and  discussed  over  and  over  again.  Captains  and 
their  wives  left  town  to  be  gone  for  years,  or  came  home  to  be 
welcomed  and  made  much  of.  Women  and  children  saw 
husbands  and  fathers  only  at  long  intervals  and  waited  for 


viii  Hrewster  Ship  Masters. 

news  of  their  arrival  in  far-off  ports.  Sometimes  they  waited, 
and  when  the  news  came  it  was  in  the  form  of  a  letter  from  a 
mate  or  a  steward  and  told  of  a  death  and  burial  at  sea. 
Sometimes  they  waited — waited — and  no  news  came,  no  news 
of  ship,  nor  officers,  nor  crew.  Many  a  stone  in  the  Brewster 
cemetery  has  "lost  at  sea"  carven  on  it  and  the  mystery  of 
that  loss  will  always  be  a  mystery. 

And  now  all  this  is  changed.  The  merchant  marine 
of  America,  the  fleets  of  square-rigged  sailing  ships,  are 
no  more.  The  young  men  of  Cape  Cod  no  longer  go  to  sea. 
In  Brewster,  only  one  or  two  of  the  old-time  sea  captains  yet 
live.  The  houses  are  closed  in  winter  and  in  the  spring 
opened  only  as  havens  for  city-weary  sojourners.  The  Cape 
is  becoming  only  a  summer  resort  and  its  deep-sea  flavor 
only  a  memory. 

So,  as  a  tale  of  a  life  that  is  ended,  these  records  of 
Brewster's  sea  captains  are  of  value  to  Cape  Codders 
wherever  they  may  be.  They  are  incomplete  and  fragmen- 
tary, because  men  of  action  are  seldom  men  of  words  and  the 
deeds  they  did  and  the  dangers  they  dared  were,  to  them, 
only  parts  of  the  day's  work.  Their  descendants  are  scattered 
and,  in  many  cases,  their  recollections  are  those  of  children, 
who  remember  that  their  father  went  to  sea  during  a  portion, 
or  all,  of  his  life,  that  he  commanded  such  and  such  a  vessel  — 
only,  perhaps,  one  or  two  of  the  number  that  he  did  command 
—  and  that  he  "  never  talked  much  about  it."  Why  should 
he  have  talked  about  it  —  to  them  ?  Seeing  them,  it  may  be, 
only  at  intervals  of  from  one  to  three  years,  he  doubtless 
considered  that  he  had  other  things  of  infinitely  more  impor- 
tance to  talk  about. 

But  that  the  little  town  of  Brewster,  Massachusetts,  should 
have  sent  forth  so  many  commanders  of  deep-sea  ships  in  times 
when  there  were  few  or  no  cables,  and  when  in  the  hands  of 
the  captains  were,  of  necessity,  left  responsibilities  of  both 
owner  and  shipper,  is  something  to  be  proud  of.  Add  to  this 


Brewster  Mhip  Masters.  ix 

the  fact  that  in  a  few  years  there  will,  in  all  probability,  be  no 
more  Cape  Cod  captains  of  sailing  craft,  and  this  collection  of 
brief  biographies,  incomplete  though  it  be,  becomes  distinctly 
worth  while. 

JOSEPH  C.  LINCOLN. 
New  York,  November  30,  1905. 


PREFACE. 


THE  writer,  in  presenting  this  book  to  the  public,  desires 
to  place  in  print  the  records  of  Brewster  ship  masters.  This 
chronicle  includes  those  who  were  masters  of  ships  or  vessels 
engaged  in  foreign  trade  and  who  were  born  or  lived  in  the 
town,  and  others  who  made  it  their  home  while  pursuing  their 
occupations. 

With  few  exceptions  this  record  commences  with  those 
who  were  living  in  the  town  not  earlier  than  1840,  and  the 
larger  proportion  of  them  were  personally  known  to  the 
writer.  During  the  Revolution  many  were  engaged  in 
privateering  and  whaling,  and  of  the  thirty -two  soldiers  whose 
graves  are  marked  in  the  old  burying  ground  as  having  served 
as  soldiers  during  the  Revolution,  a  great  number  of  them 
were  sailors. 

It  is  believed  that  more  shipmasters  engaged  in  foreign 
trade  went  from  the  town  of  Brewster  than  from  any  other 
town  or  place  in  the  country,  in  numerical  proportion  to  its 
inhabitants.  From  a  population  numbering  about  one  thou- 
sand people  we  have  the  names  of  one  hundred  and  fifteen 
shipmasters  living  since  the  year  1840,  and  during  the 
year  1850  there  were  over  fifty  living  there  at  one  time. 
Some  few  others  were  engaged  in  fishing  and  in  the  coasting 
trade  from  one  port  to  another  in  the  United  States,  but  most 
of  the  young  men  in  the  town  who  followed  the  sea  became 
masters  of  vessels  engaged  in  trade  to  all  parts  of  the  world. 
Generally  they  had  an  interest  in  and  were  part  owners  of  the 
ships  they  commanded  and  often  two  or  three  of  them  would 
join  together  and  own  in  the  same  ship  and  would  take  turns 


ii  J2rew8ter  /Ship  Masters. 

in  its  command;  consequently  a  part  of  them  would  be  at 
home  all  the  time. 

They  would  often  meet  mornings,  after  taking  their  break- 
fast, in  Joe  Lincoln's  grandfather's  shop,  and  it  was  the 
writer'^  privilege  when  he  chanced  to  be  at  home  to  hear  them 
tell  stories  of  their  voyages  at  sea.  It  was  interesting  to  hear 
these  old  captains,  who  had  visited  nearly  every  port  in  the 
world,  tell  their  adventures. 

In  the  early  times  and  up  to  about  1845  they  purchased 
their  cargoes  and  traded  between  different  ports,  usually 
returning  to  their  home  port  with  cargoes  purchased  abroad. 
Later  they  engaged  to  take  cargoes  from  other  parties  and  then 
while  in  foreign  ports  had  to  decide  what  cargoes  to  take  and 
what  business  was  most  desirable  in  which  to  engage.  The 
master,  besides  sailing  his  ship  while  at  sea,  in  port  had  to  act 
the  part  of  merchant  in  buying  and  selling  cargoes  and 
procuring  freight  for  his  ship.  Up  to  the  time  of  telegraph 
and  cable  communication,  he  had  entire  charge  of  procuring 
business  for  the  ship  after  leaving  the  home  port,  which  in 
most  cases  was  Boston. 

The  town  was  in  the  halo  of  its  prosperity  about  1850. 
From  that  time  the  number  of  ship  masters  began  to  decrease. 
The  business  declining,  there  was  no  inducement  for  young 
men  to  go  to  sea.  At  the  present  time  there  are  but  three 
ship  masters  living  in  the  town,  and  so  far  as  can  be 
ascertained  but  four  others,  who  were  born  or  ever  lived  in 
the  town,  now  living  elsewhere.  As  late  as  the  year  1855  the 
shipyards  in  New  England  were  very  active  in  building  ships 
for  their  own  use.  Too,  they  built  and  sold  them  to  foreign 
countries.  They  could  be  built  at  less  cost  than  elsewhere 
and  were  better  ships,  always  commanding  the  preference  of 
taking  cargoes  in  any  foreign  ports.  At  that  time,  however, 
the  English  commenced  to  build  iron  ships  and  steamers.  The 
cost  of  construction  in  this  country  was  made  greater.  Our 
ship  owners  could  not  build  nor  buy  them  in  any  foreign 


Brewster  Ship  Masters.  iii 

country  and  place  them  under  our  flag.  So  the  business 
between  our  country  and  foreign  countries  soon  passed  into 
other  hands.  With  the  decline  of  our  shipping,  there  was  no 
chance  for  the  Brewster  boy  to  go  to  sea,  with  any  prospect  of 
advancing  to  become  master,  and  he  was  obliged  to  seek  other 
means  of  a  livelihood. 

Had  our  navigation  laws  allowed  us  to  build  or  buy  ships 
wherever  we  could  and  in  the  lowest  markets  and  place  them 
under  the  American  flag,  the  writer  believes  the  Atlantic 
carrying  trade  would  now  be  under  the  American  flag  and  the 
ships  would  be  owned  by  Americans  and  many  of  them  now 
be  commanded  by  Brewster  captains. 

During  the  writer's  business  life  from  1860  to  1890,  he  had 
sailing  as  captains  of  vessels  thirty  ship  masters  from  this 
town,  of  ships  under  his  control  or  of  which  he  was  agent  or 
part  owner.  Many  of  these  masters  were  part  owners  of  the 
ships  they  commanded. 

From  the  year  1800  to  1830  the  ships  then  employed  in 
foreign  trade  were  on  an  average  about  300  tons  register. 

In  1850  there  were  many  ships  of  from  1000  to  1200  tons 
register. 

From  1860  to  1870  they  increased  in  size  and  there  were 
several  of  about  2400  tons.  While  there  are  very  few  full- 
rigged  ships  of  any  size  now  in  existence,  there  are  schooners 
of  double  the  size  of  the  ships  of  1860. 

The  coastwise  trade,  in  which  no  foreign  flag  can  engage,  is 
in  a  prosperous  condition,  while  the  foreign  trade,  open  to  flags 
of  all  nations,  is  almost  entirely  done  by  other  countries. 

The  day  of  the  supremacy  of  the  Brewster  ship  masters  has 
passed  and  with  it  one  of  the  most  prosperous  periods  in 
Brewster's  history.  Of  the  two  remaining  commanders  now 
living  in  the  town,  Captain  William  Freeman  at  the  ripe  age  of 
eighty-six  is  still  hale  and  hearty,  and  the  other  representative 
is  not  far  behind. 

The  character  of  the  town  is  changed  and  but  few  of  the  old 


iv  Jlrewster  Ship  Masters. 

stock  has  any  descendants  now  living  in  the  town.  The 
summer  visitor  has  come,  and  it  is  for  the  interest  of  all  to 
make  the  town  as  attractive  as  possible,  so  that  it  may  regain 
its  former  prosperous  condition,  only  in  a  different  way. 

In  obtaining  the  information  in  regard  to  the  records  of  the 
gfeip  masters,  the  writer  has  made  inquiries  of  the  descendants 
and  relatives,  so  far  as  they  can  be  found,  and  has  supplied 
additional  data  from  his  own  personal  recollections.  He  was 
very  ably  assisted  in  preparing  the  work  for  the  printer  by 
Mrs.  Ellen  Foster  Sears,  who  has  since  passed  away. 

Elsewhere  in  this  volume  are  recorded  the  tributes  of  two 
sons  of  the  Cape,  who  have  done  much  to  perpetuate  the  name 
and  fame  of  these  captains  courageous.  Their  estimates  of 
the  hardy  race  of  mariners  are  fitting  tributes  to  their  worth 
and  appropriately  form  a  foreword  to  be  followed  by  the 
human  documents  themselves,  as  embodied  in  the  records. 

J.  HENRY  SEARS. 


RECORDS  OF 
BREWSTER  SHIP  MASTERS 


WILLIAM  A.  ARTHUR. 

Born  in  Brewster  in  1822.  He  went  to  sea  in  early  life,  as 
sailor  and  mate,  in  ships  in  foreign  trade.  He  volunteered  and 
served  as  master's  mate  in  the  navy  during  the  civil  war. 
After  the  close  of  the  war  he  was  master  of  the  ship 
"  Keutuckian,"  making  several  voyages  in  the  Atlantic  trade. 
He  retired  from  the  sea  in  1878.  He  always  made  Brewster 
his  home  and  died  there  in  May,  1892. 

BENJAMIN  C.  BAKER. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  September  29,  1841.  His  first 
voyage  as  boy  was  in  the  ship  "  Tropic  "  to  Australia.  Later 
he  was  mate  of  the  ship  "  Memnon,"  and  then  master  of  that 
ship  for  seventeen  years,  making  voyages  to  South  America, 
Europe  and  East  Indies.  An  account  of  his  voyage  in  the 
barque  W.  H.  Besse  in  1883  is  as  follows: 

Nestling  since  yesterday  in  her  cosy  quarters  in  South 
Boston,  the  barque  W.  H.  Besse,  from  Manila,  the  first  that 
has  reached  us  with  vivid  realization  of  the  volcanic  eruptions 
in  Asia,  gives  little  indication  of  the  extraordinary  perils 
through  which  she  has  passed.  The  strange  particulars  as 
gleaned  by  a  Journal  reporter  from  a  careful  reading  of  the 
log  book,  as  well  as  from  the  narratives  of  the  captain,  mate 
and  others,  resolve  themselves  into  the  following  story : 


•2  Brewster  8hip  Masters. 

After  forty  days,  spent  in  the  capital  of  the  largest  island, 
Manila,  where  Capt.  Baker's  vessel  suffered  the  loss  of  several 
seamen  by  the  epidemic  of  cholera,  the  W.  II.  Besse  set  sail 
for  Boston  on  the  27th  of  May.  The  Macassar  straits  were 
soon  reached,  with  light  and  variable  winds.  She  fell  in  with 
the  barque  J.  M.  Bourne  and  ship  Northern  Light  and  kept 
company  as  far  as  Thousand  Islands,  the  Northern  Light  being 
ahead  and  the  Bourne  astern  most  of  the  time.  At  5  p.  m.,  on 
June  24,  she  struck  on  a  coral  reef,  which  has  not  yet  been 
found  on  any  chart.  They  hailed  the  Bourne,  about  75  yards 
astern,  to  keep  off,  which  she  did.  The  pumps  were  set  to 
work,  but  they  were  unable  to  start  off  the  reef  until  11  p.  m., 
and  then  she  floated  in  eleven  fathoms. 

The  vessel  began  to  fill,  and  it  was  found  necessary  to  heave 
over  a  portion  of  the  cargo  (sugar).  After  letting  go  the  port 
anchor  and  getting  the  lifeboats  ready,  the  whole  power  of 
those  on  board  was  required  to  keep  out  the  water  during  the 
night.  Three  heavy  hawsers  were  lost  in  the  vain  attempt  to 
pull  the  vessel  off.  At  midnight  the  men  were  completely 
exhausted,  and  the  pumping  was  stopped.  Happily,  on  the 
2Gth,  the  Dutch  steamer  Governor  General  Peit  came  up  and 
succeeded  in  starting  the  barque  off  toward  Batavia,  40  coolies 
who  were  on  board  being  constantly  employed  in  keeping  the 
water  out  until  they  arrived  at  Batavia  Roads  at  7.30  a.  m.,  on 
the  27th.  Here  the  barque  was  repaired,  new  supplies  were 
had,  and  the  log  book  received  the  signature  of  the  resident 
American  consul.  The  backward  step  to  Batavia  consumed 
two  months,  but  a  pleasing  change  from  the  choleric  and 
eruptive  Philippines  was  found  in  this  quaint  old  Java  seaport, 
the  capital  of  the  Netherland  Islands,  with  its  Dutch  canals 
and  Yankee  horse-cars,  and  its  absorbing  trade  of  the  Malay 
archipelago. 

Having  sailed  toward  the  Straits  of  Sunda  on  the  26th  of 
August,  light  airs  and  calms  were  met.  Throughout  the 
afternoon  and  night  heavy  reports  were  heard  like  the 


ELLEN  SEARS 


JBrewster  Ship  Masters.  3 

discharge  of  heavy  artillery,  the  sounds  seeming  to  come  from 
the  direction  of  Krakatoa  island,  situated  in  the  Straits  of 
Sunda,  latitude  6  deg.  9  min.  south,  longitude  105  deg.  29  min. 
It  became  very  dark  and  cloudy  through  the  night,  with 
continued  and  countless  flashes  of  lightning.  The  barometer 
was  30.15.  Monday,  August  27,  opened  with  strong  breezes 
and  thick,  cloudy  weather.  At  9.30  a.  m.  the  pilot  left  the 
vessel.  Since  daybreak  a  dark  heavy  bank  had  been  noticed 
to  the  westward,  which  continuing  to  rise,  the  sun  was  obscured 
and  the  whole  heavens  black.  All  hands  were  called  on  deck, 
every  bit  of  canvas  furled,  the  port  anchor  let  go,  and  Captain 
Baker,  with  the  fortitude  of  one  resolved  to  die  at  his  post, 
calmly  awaited  the  catastrophe.  Scarcely  had  the  sails  and 
port  anchor  been  disposed  of  than  the  squall  struck  the  side  of 
the  barque  with  terrific  force.  The  starboard  anchor  was  then 
let  go  with  eighty  fathoms  of  chain.  With  the  squall  came  a 
heavy  shower  of  sand  and  ashes.  The  atmosphere  was  darker 
than  the  darkest  night.  The  barometer  continued  to  rise  and 
fall  an  inch  at  a  time.  The  wind  blew  a  hurricane,  and  the 
water  was  lashed  into  such  a  tumultuous  motion  as  can  hardly 
be  conceived.  A  heavy  rumbling,  with  reports  like  steadily 
increasing  thunder,  continued,  and  the  awful  blackness  overhead 
was  made  still  more  appalling  by  the  lurid  and  fitful  lightning 
that  flashed  in  jagged  yet  concentric  streaks.  The  captain 
describes  the  darkness  as  the  most  intense  he  ever  knew,  and» 
although  still  daytime,  there  was  not  enough  daylight  to  see 
one's  own  hand.  At  this  time  Breeze  island  was  bearing 
north  by  west  about  five  or  six  miles,  and  Anjier,  which 
witnessed  the  terrible  destruction  of  land  and  life  from  the 
earthquake  and  eruptions,  was  in  comparative  proximity.  A 
stifling  smell  of  sulphur  filled  the  whole  atmosphere,  making 
it  difficult  to  do  the  amount  of  breathing  necessary  to  sustain 
consciousness.  All  the  elements  of  nature  seemed  massed  in 
menacing  hostility.  The  tide  was  setting  strongly  to  the  west, 
and  the  barque  rushed  along  under  bare  poles  at  the  rate  of 


4  JBrewster  Ship  Masters. 

14  knots  an  hour.  The  sounds  and  scenes  through  all  the 
hours  of  day  and  night  were  of  the  most  awful  description. 
The  shrieking  wind,  the  spuming  and  churning  waves,  the 
murky  and  impenetrable  veil  overhead  and  on  every  side,  and 
the  tons  of  ashes,  pumice  stone  and  earthy  fragments  that 
threatened  to  engulf  the  fated  vessel,  combined  to  daze  and 
appall  every  soul  on  board.  From  the  poor  little  Chinaman, 
who  had  linked  his  lot  with  this  vessel  for  six  years,  to  the 
hapless  native  of  the  Philippines,  the  hardy  Scandinavian  who 
had  weathered  many  a  gale,  the  cheery  and  courteous  mate, 
and  even  to  the  master  of  the  ship,  there  was  spread  the 
common  feeling  of  some  catastrophe  and  the  sense  of 
disturbance  in  nature  utterly  beyond  any  experience  of  a 
mariner.  Several  were  sure  that  the  day  of  final  judgment 
had  come. 

At  3  p.  m.  the  sky  began  to  grow  a  little  lighter,  although 
the  ashes  and  other  volcanic  matter  continued  to  fall.  The 
barque  hove  short  on  her  starboard  anchor.  The  barometer 
rose  and  fell  rapidly  and  then  became  stationary.  The  whole 
ship,  rigging  and  masts  were  coated  with  sand  and  ashes  to 
a  depth  of  several  inches. 

August  27  began  with  light  airs  and  thick,  smoky  weather, 
and  there  was  a  dead  calm  through  the  day  and  night.  We 
saw  vast  quantities  of  trees  and  dead  fish  floating  by  with  the 
tide,  the  water  having  a  whitish  appearance  caused  by  a 
surface  of  light  ashes.  It  was  soon  discovered  that  mighty 
changes  had  been  wrought  in  the  outlines  of  sea  and  shores, 
while  islands  had  sunk,  the  entire  northwest  part  of  Krakatoa 
island  had  disappeared,  and  the  beautiful  forest-clothed 
islands  of  Lang  and  Verlaten  had  been  completely  denuded. 
The  day  ended  with  a  dead  calm  and  thick,  smoky  atmosphere. 

On  August  28,  the  day  came  in  with  calm,  thick,  murky 
weather.  Immense  masses  of  cocoanuts,  trees  and  fish  were 
encountered,  the  debris  extending  over  a  surface  of  more  than 
five  hundred  miles.  In  the  afternoon  no  lighthouse  or  sign  of 


-Brewster  Skip  Masters.  5 

life  could  be  discerned.  All  light  sails  were  furled,  and  the 
barque  stood  out  under  easy  sail  through  the  night.  On 
Thursday,  August  30,  the  water  was  covered  with  large  trees 
and  driftwood,  it  being  almost  impossible  to  steer  clear  of 
them.  A  sharp  lookout  was  kept  in  the  forecastle  through 
the  day  and  masses  of  dead  bodies  were  passed.  At  10  a.  m. 
Java  lighthouses  were  sighted,  and  wind  hauling  ahead  the 
barque  kept  away  to  the  westward  of  Punce  island.  On 
August  31  four  seamen  were  off  duty  on  account  of  Java  fever; 
the  remainder  of  the  crew  were  kept  engaged  in  clearing  ashes 
off  the  rigging.  The  captain  now  suffered  a  new  deprivation 
in  the  serious  illness  of  the  mate,  Mr.  S.  B.  Gibbs. 

On  September  7,  a  severe  squall  struck  the  ship,  and  the 
deck  was  flooded  fore  and  aft.  With  comparatively  little 
exception,  fair  weather  was  then  had  until  November  26* 
when  latitude  35.05,  longitude  74.25  was  reached,  and  a  heavy 
swell  from  northwest  was  felt  and  flashes  of  lightning  were 
seen  in  the  north.  At  2  a.  m.  the  next  morning,  without  the 
least  warning,  the  sky  was  lit  from  southwest  to  southeast, 
and,  the  storm  increasing  rapidly,  all  hands  were  called  on 
deck,  all  sails  furled  and  hatches  battened  down.  A  strong 
gale  came  on,  which  increased  to  a  hurricane,  and  a  topsail 
was  lost.  The  ship  rolled  and  the  men  worked  the  pumps 
constantly.  For  several  days  the  gale  continued,  the  seas 
made  a  clean  break  over  the  ship,  and  it  was  necessary  to 
extend  life-lines  fore  and  aft  in  order  to  protect  the  crew,  who 
were  almost  prostrated  by  their  exertions  at  the  pumps. 
Seventy -five  tons  of  sugar  were  thrown  overboard  to  save  the 
ship. 

A  sad  event  at  this  time  was  the  death  and  burial  of  the 
Scandinavian  mariner,  Scrit  Salensan.  Of  a  crew  of  22  had  at 
Manila,  only  five  men  available  for  work  were  left  when  the 
barque  was  towed  up  Boston  harbor.  Two  were  lying  sick 
when  she  reached  the  wharf  in  South  Boston,  and  late  in  the 
afternoon  the  mate  was  obliged  to  send  to  the  hospital  one 


6  Brewster  Ship  Masters. 

who  was  not  expected  to  live  through  the  night.  In  conse- 
quence of  the  losses  it  was  found  necessary  to  secure  extra 
men  for  the  work  of  the  ship.  "  You  bet,"  said  the  little  man 
of  Chinese  race  and  Philippine  growth,  "You  bet  we  had  a 
hard  voyage." 

FRANKLIN  BAKER. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  October  3,  1802.  He  was  master 
of  vessels  in  the  West  Indies  trade,  and  on  one  of  those 
voyages  was  lost  at  sea  in  1840.  We  have  been  unable  to 
ascertain  the  names  of  the  vessels  he  commanded. 

JOHN  FRANKLIN  BAKER. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  November  5, 1836.  He  commenced 
a  sea  life  as  sailor  and  officer  of  several  ships,  and  later  was 
master  of  ships  "  Kentuckian,"  «  Gold  Hunter,"  "Pride  of  the 
Port,"  and  barque  "Aurelia."  Upon  retiring  from  the  sea,  he 
settled  in  Osterville,  where  he  is  now  living  (1905). 

JUDAII  P.  BAKER. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  December  7,  1807.  He  started 
as  a  sailor  when  a  boy.  He  soon  rose  to  the  command  of  the 
barques  "Anita,"  "  Maria  "  and  "  Black  Hawk  "  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean trade.  Later  he  commanded  the  ships  "  Shooting  Star  " 
and  "  Flying  Dragon,"  making  some  very  short  passages  to  and 
from  San  Francisco  and  China.  He  died  while  in  command 
of  the  ship  "  Flying  Dragon,"  on  the  passage  from  Boston  to 
San  Francisco  in  1853. 

ELI 811  A   BANGS. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  October  7,  1805.  He  began  early 
to  go  to  sea,  and  soon  had  the  command  of  ships  "Rajah," 


CAPT.  ELISHA  BANGS 


Breicster  Ship  Masters,  1 

"  Denmark,"  "  Faneuil  Hall "  and  "  Crimea."  He  retired  from 
the  gea  about  1855,  and  owned  and  was  interested  in  many 
ships  in  the  foreign  trade,  and  was  a  prominent  man  in  the 
town.  He  always  lived  in  Brewster  and  died  there  April  9, 
1886. 

ELKANAH  BANGS. 

He  was  born  in  Harwich,  now  Brewster,  July  29,  1783.  In 
1829,  he  was  in  command  of  the  brig  "Danube,"  on  a  voyage 
from  Boston  to  Valparaiso.  Through  the  kindness  of  his 
grandson,  W.  H.  Bangs,  we  were  permitted  to  examine  the 
log  book  of  this  brig  while  under  his  command  on  a  trading 
voyage  to  Valparaiso,  Coquimbo,  Callao  and  several  other 
ports  in  South  America,  returning  again  to  Boston.  Evidently 
there  was  no  chronometer  on  board,  as  the  log  shows 
that  the  positions  were  ascertained  daily  by  altitudes  of  the 
sun,  moon  or  stars.  After  retiring  from  the  sea  he  owned  and 
managed  several  ships  in  the  foreign  trade,  under  the  firm 
name  of  E.  Bangs  &  Son.  He  died  in  Brewster,  August  23, 
1863. 

FREEMAN  IL  BANGS. 

Born  in  Brewster,  November  1, 1809.  He  commenced  going 
to  sea  as  a  boy.  In  1836,  had  command  of  the  brig  "  Roxana" 
in  the  Mediterranean  trade.  He  was  commander  of  several 
different  ships,  among  them  being  the  "Joseph  Holmes," 
"Faneuil  Hall"  and  "Celeste  Clark."  While  he  had  the 
"  Faneuil  Hall,"  she  was  lost  off  the  coast  of  Brazil,  bound  to 
Calcutta.  He  retired  from  the  sea  in  1865,  and  died  in 
January,  1866,  in  Brewster,  where  he  had  always  made  his 
home. 

GEORGE  F.  BANGS. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  October  19,  1831.  After  serving 
as  sailor  and  mate  of  several  ships,  he  had  charge  of  barques 


8  Brewster  Ship  Masters. 

"  Rienzi "  and  "  Corea."    While  master  of  the  barque  "  Corea," 
he  died  at  Panama,  July  8,  1875,  and  was  buried  there. 

HIRAM  B.  BANGS. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  September  11,  1824.  After 
serving  as  sailor  and  officer  of  several  ships,  he  had  command 
of  the  ships  "  Reliance,  "  "  Rienzi "  and  "  Mary  Bangs."  While 
master  of  the  "Mary  Bangs,"  she  was  lost  in  the  Gulf  of 
California.  After  retiring  from  the  sea,  he  moved  to  Orleans, 
where  he  died,  October,  1879. 

BENJAMIN  F.  BERR  Y. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  June  1,  1802.  Followed  the  sea. 
Among  the  later  ships  that  he  commanded  were  the  barques 
"  Valtralla,"  "  Rienzi "  and  «  Cochituate,"  and  ship  "  Reliance." 
He  retired  from  the  sea  in  1855,  and  always  lived  in  Brewster, 
where  he  died  in  June,  1864. 

18 A  AC  BERRY. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  July  6,  1786.  All  that  can  be 
ascertained  of  his  sea  life  is  that  he  had  command  of  the  brig 
"  Sally,"  which  sailed  from  Amsterdam  for  Boston  in  January, 
1822,  and  was  never  more  heard  from.  It  is  supposed  that 
she  was  lost  on  this  coast  in  a  storm  that  occurred  about  the 
time  she  was  due  to  arrive  in  Boston. 

BENJAMIN  F.  BERR  Y,  JR. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  November  11,  1836.  He  started 
early  to  go  to  sea.  The  first  ship  that  he  had  command  of 
was  the  "  Oxenbridge,"  in  the  Atlantic  trade.  Later  he 
had  the  "Titan,"  in  the  California  trade.  He  was  master 
of  the  "  Titan  "  for  twelve  years,  and  died  while  in  command 
of  her  on  the  passage  from  Manila  to  Boston,  in  1881.  He 
was  buried  in  Brewster. 


CAPT.  BENJAMIN  F.  BERRY 


Brewster  Ship  Masters.  9 

THEOD  ORE  BERR  T. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster  (Harwich),  July  5,  1779.  He  was 
master  of  vessels  in  the  Mediterranean  trade,  but  nothing 
definite  can  be  ascertained  in  regard  to  the  ships  that  he 
commanded.  He  died  in  Dennis  about  1855. 

BEL  A  B.  BERRY,  JR. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  October  26, 1831.  He  commanded 
the  barques  "  Young  Turk  "  and  "  Nautilus  "  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean trade,  and  barques  "  Sumter,"  "  Philomena,"  "  Mountain 
Wave  "  and  "  Central  America  "  in  the  South  American  trade. 
While  in  charge  of  barque  "Young  Turk,"  she  was  lost  on 
Cape  Sable,  Nova  Scotia.  Crew  all  saved.  He  sailed  from 
New  York  for  London,  February  20,  1863,  in  command  of 
barque  "Augusta,"  and  was  never  heard  from  after  leaving 
New  York. 

WILLIAM  H.   BURGESS. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  February  25,  1829.  He  began 
going  to  sea  in  his  boyhood  and  rose  to  the  command  of  several 
fine  clipper  ships.  Among  them  were  the  "  Whirlwind "  and 
"  Challenger."  His  family  removed  to  Sandwich  while  he  was 
at  sea.  The  time  and  place  of  his  death  have  not  been 
ascertained,  as  none  of  his  descendants  are  living  in  Brewster. 

ISAAC  CLARK. 

He  was  born  in  Harwich,  now  Brewster,  October  10,  1761. 
He  was  a  ship  master  in  the  Russia  trade.  Was  chosen 
representative  to  the  general  court  from  1803  to  1812  (nine 
years).  He  had  ten  children.  He  commanded  the  first 
mercantile  vessel  to  display  the  American  flag  in  the  White 
sea.  He  died  on  the  coast  of  Africa,  February  11,  1819. 


10  Brewster  Ship  Masters. 

WILLIAM  CLARK. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  February  7,  1808.  He  went  to 
sea  early  and  the  names  of  his  first  ships  are  not  known,  but 
later  he  commanded  the  ship  "  Brewster."  He  always  lived 
in  Brewster  and  died  there  in  1888. 

WILLIAM  II.  CLARK. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  July  12, 1839.  His  first  command 
was  the  ship  "  Brewster."  Later  he  had  the  barque  "  Olive  " 
and  the  ship  "  Electra."  He  died  on  board  the  latter  on  her 
passage  from  Manila  to  New  York,  three  days  before  her 
arrival.  He  was  buried  in  Brewster. 

ELIJAH  COBB. 

He  was  born  in  Harwich,  now  Brewster,  July  4,  1768.  He 
was  in  command  of  the  ship  "Monsoon"  in  1801,  "Paragon" 
in  1815,  "Ten  Brothers"  in  1820.  He  retired  from  the  sea  in 
1820  and  remained  in  Brewster,  holding  various  civil  offices. 
He  was  a  strong  supporter  of  the  Universalist  church. 

Through  the  kindness  of  Miss  Mary  L.  Cobb,  we  are 
permitted  to  publish  "  Extracts  from  his  Journal,"  as  follows : 

By  my  first  voyage  to  sea,  I  gained  $20  and  a  suit  of 
clothing,  placing  in  my  mother's  hands  this  sum  —  the  largest 
she  had  received  since  she  became  a  widow.  I  spent  the  summer 
in  the  coasting  business,  and  in  the  fall  shipped  as  a  common 
sailor.  After  about  a  year  was  promoted  to  the  office  of  mate 
and  served  in  that  capacity  for  six  or  seven  years ;  but,  seeing 
no  disposition  on  their  part  to  employ  me  in  any  other  way, 
left  them,  and  after  going  two  voyages  to  Europe  as  first  mate 
of  a  ship,  got  the  command  of  a  brig  under  Edwin  and  William 
Reynolds.  After  making  several  voyages,  I  went  to  the  Cape 
and  was  married.  I  was  then  25  years  old.  I  continued  in 
the  employ  of  the  Reynoklses  alxmt  two  years  longer,  when 


CAPT.  ISAAC  CLARK 


Erewster  Ship  Masters.  11 

they  concluded  to  send  me  on  a  voyage  to  Europe.  Their 
object  was  Cadiz,  but  it  was  recommended  that  I  clear  for 
Corunna.  I  was,  however,  saved  the  trouble  of  enquiry  by 
being  captured  by  a  French  frigate,  and  here  commenced  my 
trouble.  It  was  during  the  time  of  the  French  revolution  and 
the  bloody  reign  of  Robespierre  (1794).  I  minuted  down  1000 
persons  that  I  saw  beheaded  by  the  infernal  guillotine,  and 
probably  saw  as  many  more  that  I  did  not  minute  down.  All 
my  papers  had  been  taken  from  me.  My  vessel  was  there,  but 
her  cargo  had  been  taken  out  and  was  daily  made  into  soups, 
bread,  etc.,  for  the  half-starved  populace,  and  without  papers 
I  could  not  substantiate  my  claim  to  the  ship.  They  merely 
condescended  to  send  me  and  some  of  my  crew  to  board  at  a 
hotel  about  six  weeks.  I  wrote  to  the  French  charge  des 
affaires  in  Paris  and  received  for  answer  that  he  regretted  my 
situation  and  those  of  my  countrymen,  but  we  must  exercise 
patience,  and  "  the  government  will  do  what  is  right  in  time." 
In  about  six  weeks  the  officers  called  and  brought  the 
decision  and  a  linguist  to  explain  it  to  me.  Thus  had  they 
tried  and  passed  sentence  without  my  even  learning  or  knowing 
I  was  on  trial.  The  decision,  however,  was  so  favorable  that 
it  gave  new  feelings  to  my  life.  I  was  waited  upon  to  sell 
my  cargo  when  it  is  presumed  there  was  not  a  pound  of  rice 
or  of  flour  in  existence.  We  fixed  the  prices  on  the  invoice. 
Bills  of  exchange  were  payable  on  Hamburg,  50  days  after 
date.  I  ballasted  my  vessel,  sent  her  away,  and  remained  to 
take  charge  of  the  payment.  In  about  two  days  I  was  under 
weigh  for  Paris  with  the  national  courier  for  government. 
We  drove  Jehu-like  without  stopping,  except  to  change  horses 
and  mail,  taking  occasionally  a  mouthful  of  bread  and  washing 
it  down  with  low-priced  Burgundy  wine.  As  to  sleep,  I  did 
not  get  one  wink  during  the  whole  684  miles.  We  had  from 
ten  to  twelve  mounted  horsemen  for  guard  during  the  night, 
and,  to  prove  that  the  precaution  was  necessary,  the  second 
morning  after  leaving  Brest,  just  before  the  guard  had  left  us, 


1'2  Brewster  Ship  Masters. 

we  witnessed  a  scene  that  filled  us  with  horror :  the  remains 
of  a  courier  lying  in  the  road,  the  master,  postillion,  and  five 
horses  lying  dead  and  mangled  by  it,  and  the  mail  mutilated 
and  scattered  in  all  directions.  However,  the  next  stage  was 
only  five  miles  and  not  considered  dangerous,  and  we  proceeded 
on.  We  reached  Paris  at  four  o'clock  on  a  beautiful  June 
morning.  The  carriage  stopped  before  the  Hotel  de  Bosten, 
being  just  74  hours  from  the  gates  of  Brest,  during  which  I  had 
not  lost  myself  in  sleep,  had  taken  nothing  upon  my  stomach, 
or  used  water  upon  either  hands  or  face.  I  was  obliged  to 
wait  for  my  papers.  With  both  sets  lost,  there  was  little 
comfort  in  the  hope  of  redress. 

While  sitting  with  writing  materials  before  me,  in  the  act 
of  writing  for  another  set  of  papers,  a  French  gentleman,  who 
occupied  the  next  room,  passed  my  door.  I  asked  him  in  and 
related  to  him  my  grievances.  He  advised  me  to  endeavor  to 
obtain  an  interview  with  Robespierre,  saying  that  he  was 
partial  to  Americans,  and  that  he  had  no  doubt  he  would  give 
me  aid.  By  his  advice,  therefore,  I  wrote  the  following  billet : 

"An  American  citizen,  captured  by  a  French  frigate  on  the 
high  seas,  requests  a  personal  interview  and  to  lay  his 
grievances  before  the  citizen  Robespierre. 

Very  resp'y, 

ELIJAH  COBB." 

In  about  an  hour  I  received  the  following  note : 

"  I  will  grant  citizen  Cobb  an  interview  tomorrow  at  10  a.  m. 

ROBESPIERRE." 

After  the  interpreter  left  the  hall,  he  conversed  with  me  in 
very  good  English.  Finally  he  told  me  to  call  at  an  office  in 
Rue  St.  Honore,  called  the  office  of  the  28d  dept.,  and  demand 
my  papers.  I  told  him  I  had  done  so  repeatedly  and  had  been 
forbidden  to  come  again.  "  Go,"  said  he,  "  to  that  office  and  tell 
citizen  F.  T.  that  you  came  from  Robespierre,  and  if  he  does 


JBrewster  Ship  Masters.  13 

produce  your  papers  and  finish  your  business  immediately,  he 
will  hear  from  me  again  in  a  way  not  so  pleasing  to  him."  I 
rendered  my  grateful  thanks  to  him  and  left  him. 

I  went  direct  to  the  said  office,  and  by  the  privilege  of  using 
Robespierre's  name  direct  was  kindly  received  and  my  business 
completed  next  day.  I  arrived  in  Hamburg  the  day  before 
my  bills  became  due. 

The  fortunate  result  of  this  voyage  increased  my  fame  as  a 
ship  master,  but  allowed  me  only  a  few  days  at  home.  After 
another  voyage  I  received  charge  of  a  new  ship,  the 
"  Monsoon."  They  put  on  board  a  valuable  cargo  and  wanted 
me  to  find  a  market  for  it  in  Europe;  but  as  I  had  some 
American  rum,  they  advised  Ireland  for  that.  Finding  no 
prospect  to  obtain  permission  to  land  the  rum  in  Ireland,  I 
concluded  to  try  elsewhere.  Matters  were  arranged,  however, 
so  that  between  the  cove  of  Cork  and  the  Scilley  islands  eight 
hogsheads  of  New  England  rum  were  thrown  overboard  and  a 
small  pilot  boat  hove  on  board  a  small  bag  containing  64 
English  guineas.  Although  I  saw  them  haul  on  board  the 
eight  hogsheads  I  was  satisfied.  I  found  in  Hamburg  a  good 
market  for  my  cargo,  and  my  employers  were  so  well  pleased 
that  they  could  hardly  allow  me  to  visit  the  Cape.  I  had 
stayed  in  Hamburg  all  winter ;  heard  there  of  the  illness  of 
my  wife,  the  death  of  my  brother,  and  had  a  severe  illness 
which  took  away  my  hair. 

I  reached  home  in  August.  One  more  voyage  in  the 
"Monsoon,"  and  then  she  was  sold.  I  had  not  been  many 
weeks  at  home  before  the  owners  sent  for  me  to  come  to 
Boston  and  look  at  a  new  brig,  the  "Sally  and  Mary,"  and 
another  Hamburg  voyage  was  planned.  When  I  reached 
Hamburg  it  was  blockaded,  and  I  was  sent  to  Yarmouth,  Eng., 
where  I  was  pronounced  free  to  go  to  any  port  not  blockaded. 
I  concluded  that  Copenhagen  would  be  the  best  market  and 
steered  my  course  for  that  port.  On  my  arrival  I  proceeded 
to  Lubeck,  and  from  there  my  cargo  could  be  readily  sent  on, 


14  Brewster  Ship  Masters. 

in  defiance  of  the  blockade,  to  Hamburg  and  a  return  cargo 
given  me.  This  done,  I  went  to  the  Cape  for  another  visit. 
While  there  a  messenger  came  for  me  to  go  to  Malaga.  I 
arrived  there,  January,  1808. 

On  my  arrival  I  was  informed  that  the  British  Orders  in 
Council  went  into  force  on  that  day,  forbidding  vessels  taking 
a  return  cargo.  Of  course  this  would  make  such  a  cargo  very 
desirable.  The  American  consul  thought  there  would  be  but 
little  risk  if  I  hurried,  and  in  eight  days  I  was  ready  to  sail. 
In  order  to  escape  investigation,  I  waited  for  a  strong  east 
wind,  and  left  Malaga,  thinking  to  reach  the  Rock  of  Gibraltar 
that  evening,  which  I  did ;  but,  unfortunately,  as  I  approached 
the  wind  died  out.  I  had  to  make  tack  under  the  Spanish 
shore,  and  while  standing  over  for  the  Rock,  was  boarded  by 
the  boat  of  the  frigate  under  pretence  that  I  was  bound  for 
Algeciras.  I  told  them  the  truth :  that  I  was  from  Malaga 
bound  for  Boston ;  that  I  had  come  there  to  avail  myself  of  a 
clearance  from  a  British  port  and  a  convoy  through  the  gut. 
But  after  I  had  seen  the  principal,  placing  on  the  counter 
before  his  eyes  a  two-ounce  piece  of  gold,  I  was  permitted  to 
go  with  my  clearance  to  the  American  consul's.  A  signal  gun 
was  fired  that  morning  and  I  was  the  first  to  move,  being  appre- 
hensive that  some  incident  might  yet  subject  me  to  that  fatal 
investigation.  How  it  was  managed  to  clear  out  a  cargo  of 
Spanish  goods  from  Gibraltar,  under  the  British  Orders  from 
Council,  was  a  subject  of  most  intense  speculation  in  Boston, 
but  I  had  made  a  good  voyage  for  all  concerned. 

I  remained  home  but  a  short  time,  when  I  was  asked  to  go 
to  New  York  to  take  charge  of  a  ship  belonging  to  them  — 
the  "  William  Tell " —  for  a  voyage  to  Europe.  I  accordingly 
went  to  Alexandria  in  Virginia,  loaded  the  ship  with  flour  and 
sailed  for  Cadiz  in  Spain,  where  I  sold  my  cargo,  ballasted  my 
ship  with  stones,  and  returned  to  Norfolk.  Here  I  found 
letters  and  orders  to  go  up  to  Alexandria  and  load  for  another 
voyage.  During  an  unavoidable  detention  of  a  few  days,  a 


CAPT.  ELIJAH  COBB 


Erewater  Ship  Master 9.  15 

violent  storm  came  on,  and  while  I  was  securing  my  vessel  to 
the  wharf,  Mr.  Fisk,  the  merchant  with  whom  I  advised,  came 
down  and  told  me  he  had  just  received  a  dispatch  from  Mr. 
Randolph  in  Congress,  saying  to  him :  "  What  you  do  must  be 
done  quickly,  for  the  embargo  will  be  upon  you  at  10  a.  m.  on 
Sunday."  It  was  now  Friday  p.  m.  We  had  about  100  tons 
of  ballast  on  board,  which  must  be  removed,  and  upwards  of 
3000  barrels  of  flour  to  take  in  and  stow  away,  provisions, 
wood  and  water  to  take  on  board,  a  crew  to  ship,  and  to  get  to 
sea  before  the  embargo  took  possession.  I  found  that  we 
could  get  one  supply  of  flour  from  a  block  of  stores  directly 
alongside  the  ship,  and  by  paying  three-eighths  of  a  dollar 
extra,  we  had  liberty  if  stopped  by  the  embargo  to  return  it. 
Saturday  morning  was  fine  weather.  About  sunrise  I  went  to 
the  "lazy  corner,"  so  called,  and  pressed  into  service  every 
negro  that  came  upon  the  stand  and  sent  them  on  board  the 
ship,  until  I  thought  there  were  as  many  as  could  work.  I 
then  visited  the  sailors'  boarding  houses,  where  I  shipped  my 
crew,  paid  the  advance  to  their  landlords,  and  their  obligations 
to  see  each  sailor  on  board  at  sunrise  next  morning.  It  had 
now  got  to  be  about  twelve  o'clock,  and  the  ship  must  be 
cleared  at  the  custom  house  before  one.  I  accordingly 
prepared  a  manifest  and  went  to  the  custom  house  to  clear  the 
ship.  Mr.  Taylor,  the  collector,  knowing  my  situation,  said, 
"  Why,  Cobb,  what  is  the  use  of  clearing  the  ship?  You  cannot 
get  away.  The  embargo  will  be  here  at  10  o'clock  tomorrow 
morning ;  and,  even  if  you  get  your  ship  below,  I  shall  have 
boats  out  that  will  stop  you  before  you  get  three  leagues  to 
sea."  Said  I,  "  Mr.  Taylor,  will  you  be  so  kind  as  to  clear  my 
ship?"  "Oh,  yes,"  said  he,  and  accordingly  the  ship  was 
cleared  and  I  returned  on  board  and  found  everything  going 
on  well.  Finally,  to  shorten  the  story,  at  nine,  that  evening, 
we  had  about  3,050  barrels  of  flour,  one  long  boat  on  board  in 
the  chocks,  water,  wood  and  provisions  on  board  and  stowed, 
a  pilot  engaged,  and  all  in  readiness  for  the  sea. 


16  Breicster  Ship  Masters. 

The  tide  would  serve  at  eight  o'clock  Sunday  morning,  and 
we  could  not  go  before  10  o'clock,  and  at  that  time  the  embargo 
was  expected.  Well,  the  morning  arrived,  and  the  sailors 
were  brought  on  board  by  their  landlords,  the  pilot  came,  and 
at  eight  o'clock  we  started  with  a  fair  wind  down  a  crooked, 
narrow  river.  The  fair  wind  dying  out,  our  progress  was 
slow.  When  we  entered  Hampton  Roads,  it  had  got  to  be 
after  eleven  o'clock  and  nearly  calm.  Feeling  anxious  I  kept 
a  sharp  lookout  astern,  and  with  a  spy-glass  at  about  12  I  saw 
a  boat  coming  down  under  the  full  operation  of  sails  and  oars. 
"  Well,"  said  I  to  the  mate,  "  I  fear  we  are  gone."  But  very 
soon,  to  appearance,  a  fresh  breeze  sprung  from  the  north 
shore  and  I  saw  that  the  boat  had  already  taken  it.  I  then 
ordered  all  the  light  sails  set  ready  to  receive  the  breeze. 
When  it  reached  us  the  boat  was  so  near  that  with  my  glass  I 
traced  the  features  of  the  men ;  but  ten  minutes  later  the  boat 
gave  up  the  chase  and  returned,  and  I  went  to  sea  without 
further  molestation.  I  then  proceeded  to  Cadiz,  and  carried 
there  the  first  news  of  the  embargo.  The  day  before  I  sailed, 
I  dined  with  a  large  party  at  the  American  consul's,  and,  it 
being  mentioned  that  I  was  to  sail  next  day,  I  was  congratu- 
lated by  a  British  officer  on  the  safety  of  our  flag.  Well,  I 
thought  the  same,  when  at  the  time  war  between  England  and 
America  was  raging. 

I  sailed  from  Cadiz  on  the  25th  day  of  July,  1812,  bound 
for  Boston,  and  I  never  felt  safer  on  account  of  enemies  on  the 
high  seas.  I  had  just  entered  upon  the  eastern  edge  of  the 
Grand  bank.  In  casting  my  eye  to  windward,  I  saw  a  sail  to 
all  appearance  bearing  down  directly  for  us.  At  sunrise  I 
ordered  the  ensign  hoisted  at  the  mizzen  peak.  No  sooner 
were  our  colors  up  than  his  went  up  in  the  smoke  of  a  gun. 
I  saw  that  she  was  a  schooner  under  the  English  colors,  and 
that  she  was  armed.  But  it  did  not  alarm  me,  BO  I  continued 
to  lay  by.  She  said  to  me  very  mildly,  "  I  will  thank  you  to 
continue  to  lay  by  and  I  will  send  my  boat  on  board."  Seeing 


CAPTAIN  ELKANAH   BANGS 


JBrewster  Ship  Masters.  17 

she  was  a  cutter  schooner  with  ten  brass  guns,  I,  of  course, 
acquiesced,  and  her  boat  came  on  board  with  two  petty  officers 
and  two  men.  While  I  was  in  my  stateroom,  one  of  them 
says  to  me,  "  Captain,  what  cargo  did  you  carry  to  Cadiz  ? " 
"  Flour."  "  You  got  a  good  price,  I  presume  ?  "  "  Yes,"  said  I. 
"Got  cash  on  board,  I  suppose?"  "No,"  said  I,  "I  remitted 
my  money  to  England."  « Well,  said  he,  "you've  a  fine  ship 
here."  "Yes,  tolerable."  "What,"  said  he,  "do  you  think 
she  is  worth  ?  "  This  question  roused  my  curiosity.  I  stepped 
to  the  door  of  the  stateroom  and,  looking  the  man  in  the  face, 
said  to  him,  "Have  you  any  idea  of  buying  or  taking  the 
ship?"  "Oh,"  said  he,  "Captain,  you  will  excuse  our 
inquisitiveness ;  it  was  without  meaning."  When  I  was 
ready,  one  of  the  officers  went  into  the  boat  with  me,  the  other 
remaining  on  board  the  ship.  I  was  conducted  to  the  cabin 
to  the  captain.  He  showed  me  an  American  paper  twelve 
days  old,  which  was  the  declaration  of  war.  He  then 
asked  me  what  I  carried  to  Cadiz.  I  said,  "flour."  "Did  it 
sell  ?  "  "  Yes ;  it  brought  $20  a  barrel."  "  Oh,  you've  cash  on 
board,"  said  he.  "No,"  said  I,  " I  remitted  the  proceeds  of  my 
cargo  to  London,  and  I  have  my  thirds  of  exchange  to  satisfy 
you."  "Well,"  said  he,  "you  have  a  fine  ship  here.  What 
will  you  give  for  her,  and  we  give  you  a  clear  passport  into 
Boston?"  After  a  little  reflection  I  named  $4,000.  "Well," 
said  he,  "give  us  the  money."  "  Oh,  I  thank  you,"  said  I,  "if 
it  were  on  board,  you  would  take  it  without  asking.  I  will 
give  you  a  draft  on  London."  "No,"  said  he,  "cash,  or  we 
burn  the  ship."  "  Well,"  said  I,  "  you'll  not  burn  me  in  her,  I 
hope."  "  Oh,  no ;  you  may  give  orders  for  your  men  to  pick 
up  their  duds,  and  we  will  carry  them  on  board  the  frigate. 
You  may  remain  on  board  and  select  yourself  a  servant  from 
the  crew.  The  ship  is  too  good  to  burn."  I  accordingly  selected 
my  nephew,  E.  G.  Crosby,  to  remain  with  me. 

It  was  six  days  before  we  arrived  at  St.  Johns.    The  next 
morning  I  was  conducted  to  the  port  admiral,  Sir  John  Thomas 


18  JBreicster  Ship  Masters. 

Duckworth.  After  he  had  made  inquiries  relative  to  my 
voyage,  he  told  me  I  had  the  liberty  of  the  town,  provided  I 
chose  to  keep  my  residence  on  shore,  or  I  had  the  liberty  of 
remaining  on  board  the  ship,  but  could  not  have  access  to  the 
ship  and  shore  both.  I  finally  told  him  that  I  would  like  to 
remain  on  board  the  ship  until  my  officers  and  men  were  sent 
in,  after  which  I  would  like  to  come  on  shore.  In  four  days 
my  officers  and  crew  were  sent  in.  The  next  day  I  took  up 
my  residence  in  Prisoners'  Hall,  so  called,  where  there  were 
about  twenty  masters  and  supercargoes,  prisoners  like  myself. 
I  found  there  were  about  twenty-seven  American  vessels  in 
port  as  prizes. 

Six  days  after  this,  we  were  greeted  at  a  very  early  hour  in 
the  morning  with  the  sound  of  an  American  cartel  flag  flying 
in  the  harbor.  We  were  soon  in  the  town  and  learned  that  a 
ship  had  arrived  during  the  previous  night  under  the  command 
of  an  American  officer,  with  a  cartel  flag,  but  the  officer  had 
then  gone  to  report  himself  to  the  port  admiral.  We  forthwith 
repaired  to  a  noted  coffee-house,  where  the  American  officer 
soon  arrived.  Although  we  were  all  strangers,  he  cordially 
took  us  by  the  hand  as  Americans,  and  told  us  he  wag  second 

lieutenant  of  the  frigate  C n,  Capt.  Porter,  and  through  the 

importunities  of  the  British  captain,  she  had  been  sent  in  by 
Captain  Porter  with  her  officers  and  crew  all  aboard  to  be 
exchanged  for  the  same  number  of  Americans.  "  But,"  said 
the  officer,  "I  have  cause  to  fear  that  I  may  be  a  prisoner  with 
you;  for,"  said  he,  "I  left  the  admiral  in  a  violent  rage  at 
Captain  Porter's  proceedings  of  making  a  cartel  on  the  high 
seas."  The  officer  told  him  he  had  no  terms  to  make,  but 
orders  from  Captain  Porter  there  to  lie  for  24  hours,  and  if  the 
terms  were  not  complied  with,  to  proceed  on  to  America  with 
the  prize  and  her  crew,  "  and  be  your  prisoner,"  said  he,  "  as  I 
am  in  your  power."  However,  in  a  few  minutes  a  note  was 
received  from  the  old  admiral,  saying  that  on  a  perusal  of 
Captain  Porter's  dispatches,  he  found  that  the  honor  of  the 


Jirewster  Ship  Masters.  19 

British  officers  was  pledged  for  the  fulfilling  of  the  contract, 
and  as  he  knew  his  government  always  redeemed  the  pledges 
of  its  officers,  he  would  receive  the  officers  and  crew  of  the 
Alert,  and  would  give  in  exchange  every  American  prisoner  in 
port  (and  there  were  two  to  one),  and  we  must  be  off  in  24 
hours.  Now  commenced  a  scene  of  confusion  and  bustle. 
The  crew  of  the  cartel  were  soon  landed,  and  the  Americans 
as  speedily  took  possession. 

The  next  morning  we  weighed  the  anchor  of  the  Alert,  left 
the  harbor  of  St.  Johns  and  bade  sail  for  New  York  with  246 
Americans  on  board.  Two  days  after  we  arrived  in  New  York 
and  dispersed  for  our  several  homes.  *  *  *  Well,  at  12 
o'clock,  as  before  stated,  I  arrived  at  my  home ;  knocked  at  the 
window.  It  appears  my  wife  had  been  re-perusing  my  lengthy 
letter  and  revolving  in  her  mind  all  the  horrors  of  my  situation 
in  an  English  prison,  after  she  had  been  in  bed,  and  had  not 
been  asleep  when  I  knocked  at  the  window.  "  Who  is  there  ?  " 
said  she.  "It  is  I,"  said  I.  "Well,  what  do  you  want?" 
"  To  come  in."  «  For  what  ?  "  said  she.  Before  I  could  answer 
I  heard  my  daughter,  who  was  in  bed  with  her,  say,  "  Why, 
ma,  it's  pa ! "  It  was  enough.  The  doors  flew  open,  and  the 
greetings  of  affection  and  consanguinity  multiplied  upon  me 
rapidly.  Thus  in  a  moment  was  I  transported  to  the  greatest 
earthly  bliss  man  can  enjoy,  viz.:  to  the  enjoyment  of  the 
happy  family  circle. 

The  foregoing  was  written  by  General  Elijah  Cobb  during 
the  year  1848  with  the  intention  of  completing  it,  but  the  state 
of  his  health  prevented.  He  remained  at  home  from  1812  to 
1815  or  1816,  when  he  made  several  voyages  to  Europe  in  the 
ship  "  Paragon,"  built  for  him  and  considered  one  of  the  finest 
ships  of  the  day.  In  1819  and  1820  he  made  two  voyages  to 
Africa  in  the  ship  "  Ten  Brothers,"  taking  with  him  on  his 
first  voyage  his  son  Freeman.  During  the  second  voyage 
there  was  much  sickness  of  a  contagious  character,  and  the 
ship  on  her  return  was  sunk  at  the  end  of  the  wharf,  to 


20  Brewster  Ship  Masters. 

prevent  contagion  in  the  city  of  Boston.  He  left  the  sea  in 
1820  and  after  that  time  remained  in  Brewster,  filling  the 
various  civil  offices  of  town  clerk,  treasurer,  inspector  general, 
representative,  senator  and  justice  of  the  peace  and  quorum  ; 
also  the  military  rank  of  brigadier  general.  He  was  a  strong 
supporter  of  the  Universalist  church  in  town,  in  which 
doctrine  he  took  much  interest. 

WILLIAM  B.    COBB. 

He  was  horn  in  Brewster,  June  30,  1828.  After  serving  the 
usual  grades  at  sea,  he  had  command  of  the  barque  "J. 
Godfrey"  and  clipper  ship  "Empress  of  the  Sea,"  in  the 
California  trade.  He  then  went  in  the  employ  of  the  Pacific 
Mail  Steamship  company,  where  he  remained  for  eighteen 
years,  having  charge  of  steamships  "  City  of  Sydney,"  "  City 
of  Rio  de  Janeiro,"  "  City  of  Pekin,"  and  several  others,  sailing 
between  San  Francisco,  Japan,  China  and  Australia.  After 
retiring  from  the  sea,  he  resided  in  San  Francisco,  where  he 
died  in  1896. 

MICHAEL  CONNOLLY. 

He  was  born  in  Ireland,  in  1838.  When  three  years  of  age 
he  came  to  this  country  with  his  parents  and  settled  in 
Brewster.  He  worked  on  a  farm  until  he  was  fifteen  years 
old,  then  began  his  sea  life.  He  was  master  of  the  ship 
"  Charger  "  for  several  years  in  the  California  trade.  Later  he 
went  in  the  employ  of  the  Pacific  Mail  Steamship  company, 
having  charge  at  different  times  of  steamships  "Montana," 
"China,"  "Colorado"  and  "Grenada."  He  died  in  San 
Francisco  in  1887. 

GEORGE  CROCKER. 
He  was  born  in  Brewster,  February  25,   1820.    He  was 


Brewster  Ship  Masters.  21 

master  of  ships  "William  A.  Cooper,"  "Expounder"  and 
"Electra."  He  died  while  in  command  of  the  ship  "Electra," 
on  the  passage  from  Batavia  to  Manila  in  1883. 

BENJAMIN  SNO  W  CROSB  Y. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  February  21, 1810.  He  commanded 
the  ships  "  Eurotus  "  and  "  Oregon." 

George  W.  Higgins,  Esquire,  formerly  of  Brewster,  has  sent 
the  following,  which  is  an  account  of  the  trip  to  California, 
made  by  the  Brewster  people  in  1849 : 

We  sailed  from  Boston  October  30,  1849,  in  the  hermaphro- 
dite brig  "Archelaus,"  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  tons,  loaded 
with  lumber.  She  was  a  West  India  trader  with  high  quarter 
deck.  There  were  twelve  of  the  party  who  owned  the  vessel 
and  cargo,  the  whole  costing  about  eight  thousand  dollars. 
The  names  were  Captain  Benjamin  Snow  Crosby,  Captain 
Burgess,  Joseph  Foster,  Ben.  Crocker,  John  Crocker,  Joseph 
Pratt,  Freeman  Snow,  George  W.  Higgins,  and  four  others 
from  Boston.  By  vote  Captain  Benjamin  S.  Crosby  was  made 
captain,  Captain  Burgess,  first  mate,  and  Joseph  Foster,  second 
mate;  the  rest  were  common  sailors,  but  we  all  lived  together 
in  the  cabin.  The  cook  worked  his  passage,  and  we  had  six 
passengers.  We  were  all  square-rig  sailors  except  Ben. 
Crocker,  who  had  been  mate  on  one  of  our  Boston  packets ;  he 
was  made  captain  of  the  main  boom,  as  the  square-rig  sailors 
were  afraid  of  it. 

We  had  a  good  passage  until  off  the  River  La  Plata,  where 
we  struck  one  of  their  pamperos,  that  washed  our  decks  and 
stove  our  galley  to  pieces.  We  were  without  anything  hot  to 
eat  or  drink  for  three  days,  until  our  stove  could  be  repaired. 
From  that  we  met  no  trouble.  We  went  through  the  Straits 
of  Le  Maire  and  made  a  good  passage  around  the  Horn.  We 
were  ninety  days  to  Valparaiso,  where  we  stopped  for  several 
days.  From  there  we  encountered  light  winds,  which  made 


22  Brewster  Ship  Masters. 

our  progress  slow,  bringing  into  San  Francisco  from  Boston 
in  one  hundred  and  forty-seven  days.  There  we  sold  the  brig 
as  we  dropped  anchor  for  about  one-half  what  it  cost  us,  and 
each  man  took  his  own  course. 

Captain  Benjamin  Snow  Crosby  died  in  New  Orleans, 
December  15,  1851,  while  in  command  of  ship  "Oregon." 

CHARLES  CROSBY. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  June  13,  1833.  He  commanded 
barque  "Kedar,"  ships  "Forest  Queen"  and  "Joseph  Holmes." 
He  was  accidentally  killed  by  the  discharge  of  a  gun  while  at 
Bassein  and  was  buried  there,  June  5,  1864. 

CLANRICK  CROSBY. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  November  5, 1814.  He  commanded 
ship  "Louisiana,"  sailing  from  Boston  in  1849  for  Oregon, 
going  around  Cape  Horn.  One  of  his  relatives  writes  as 
follows : 

In  April,  1850,  he  went  to  Oregon  for  a  year,  then  to  Turn 
Water,  Puget  sound,  at  that  time  a  wilderness.  He  bought 
claim  of  his  brother,  Nathaniel  Crosby,  with  saw  and  grist 
mills,  also  house  in  rough.  There  were  no  houses  within  two 
miles.  Finally  he  had  flour  mill  and  general  merchandise 
store.  His  grist  mill  was  the  first  north  of  Portland,  Oregon. 
These  brothers  were  more  properly  pioneers  of  the  West  after 
leaving  the  sea.  He  died  in  Portland,  Oregon,  in  1879. 

EDMUND  CROSBY. 

Born  in  Brewster,  August  28,  1819.  He  commanded  ships 
"William  Gray"  and  "Anglo  Saxon."  He  died  on  board  the 
"Anglo  Saxon,"  on  her  passage  from  New  Orleans  to  Liverpool 
in  1853. 


OGEANKISTG 


JBrewster  Ship  Masters.  23 

ELISHA  CROSBY. 

Born  in  Brewster,  May  11,  1818.  George  W.  Higgins,  Esq., 
writes  his  recollection  of  Captain  Elisha  Crosby  as  follows : 

I  do  not  know  much  of  his  early  years  at  sea.  In  1843,  '44 
and  '45, 1  was  with  him  as  a  boy  before  the  mast  in  the  barque 
"  Leouesa,"  in  two  voyages  around  Cape  Horn  to  the  coast  of 
Central  America  and  California.  We  made  about  the  same 
sort  of  voyages  as  in  Dana's  "  Two  Years  Before  Mast,"  except 
that  our  hides  were  collected  ready  for  us.  He  was  mate  of 
the  barque  on  these  voyages. 

The  next  year  he  was  made  captain  of  the  schooner  "Indiana," 
of  about  ninety  tons.  Freeman  Mayo,  Jr.,  was  his  mate, 
sailing  along  the  coast  of  Central  America.  His  cargo  was  "  a 
little  of  everything."  He  traded  from  there  to  San  Francisco 
and  China.  My  brother,  John  Higgins,  was  with  him  on  that 
voyage.  He  afterwards  made  voyages  to  the  Mediterranean, 
but  soon  left  the  seas,  and,  being  without  employment,  came 
out  to  Chicago,  and  remained  the  winter  of  1876-77.  He  died 
soon  after  leaving  Chicago. 

FREEMAN  CROSBY. 

Born  in  Brewster,  December  4,  1802.  He  was  master  of 
the  ship  "Gem  of  the  Ocean"  and  others,  names  unknown. 
He  retired  from  the  sea  early  in  life  and  always  lived  in 
Brewster.  He  died  October,  1861. 

FREEMAN  CROSBY,  JR. 

Born  in  Brewster,  June  9,  1831.  He  commanded  ships 
"White  Swallow"  and  "Liverpool  Packet.  The  "Liverpool 
Packet"  left  Hong  Kong  for  Shanghai  in  1863  and  was  never 
heard  from  after  leaving  Hong  Kong.  It  is  supposed  they 
were  lost  in  a  typhoon. 


24  Brewster  Ship  Masters. 

JAMES   CROSBY. 

Born  in  Brewster,  August  23,  1796.  He  was  in  the  West 
India  and  South  American  trade.  He  died  at  sea,  August  13, 
1834. 

JAMES  EDWIN  CROSBY. 

He  had  command  of  ships  "Oscar,"  "Magnet"  and 
"  Imperial."  He  had  command  of  the  latter  ship  for  twenty- 
two  years  in  the  California  and  China  trade.  His  last  voyage 
was  made  from  Manila  to  Philadelphia,  arriving  there  during 
the  month  of  December,  1893.  He  contracted  a  cold  there 
and  came  to  his  home  in  Melrose,  where  he  died  the  following 
month,  January,  1894.  His  native  place  was  Brewster,  where 
he  was  born  February  11,  1888. 

JOSHUA  CROSBY. 

Born  in  Brewster,  October  11, 1822.  He  commanded  vessels 
in  the  West  India  trade  and  died  on  one  of  his  voyages  in 
1853. 

NATHANIEL  CROSBY. 

Born  in  Brewster,  November  3,  1810.  He  sailed  in  ships, 
the  names  not  ascertained,  and  went  to  Oregon  in  1846,  where 
he  built  the  first  frame  house,  which  was  completed  in  1849. 
From  1854  to  1858  he  was  engaged  in  taking  ship  spars  from 
Puget  sound  to  China,  being  the  first  cargoes  ever  shipped  to 
Hong  Kong.  He  died  in  Hong  Kong  in  1859. 

TULLY  CROSBY. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  July  22,  1809.  He  had  command 
of  brig  "Old  Colony,"  barque  "Arab,"  and  ships  "Kingfisher," 
«  Monterey,"  "Antelope  "  and  "  Charlotte." 


Hrewster  Ship  Masters.  25 

His  son  has  furnished  the  following  sketch : 

He  was  the  youngest  of  ten  children.  After  receiving  a 
limited  education  in  the  district  schools  of  his  town,  he  left 
home,  at  the  age  of  thirteen,  in  the  old  packet  sloop  "  Fame," 
for  Boston,  where  he  joined  his  eldest  brother,  Joshua,  who 
was  master  of  the  brig  "  Telemachus,"  on  a  voyage  to  Surinam 
as  cabin  boy.  He  remained  with  his  brother  for  several 
voyages,  and  at  the  age  of  twenty-three  received  his  first 
command,  the  brig  « Old  Colony,"  built  at  Plymouth.  He 
followed  the  sea  for  twenty-five  years  and  successfully 
commanded  some  of  the  finest  clipper  ships  of  those  days. 

At  the  age  of  forty-five,  Captain  Crosby  retired  from  the 
sea  and  settled  on  his  farm  in  Brewster.  In  1856,  he  was 
elected  representative  to  the  general  court,  and  was  ft  member 
of  the  extra  session  in  1857  to  establish  districts  for  the  choice 
of  councillors,  senators  and  representatives;  also  again  in 
1865,  and  was  present  during  the  exciting  times,  consequent 
upon  the  surrender  of  Lee  and  the  assassination  of  President 
Lincoln.  Always  public-spirited,  he  gave  to  the  service  of  the 
town  and  state  an  honest,  true-hearted  loyalty. 

Captain  Crosby  died  at  his  home  in  Brewster,  December  14, 
1891. 

TULLY  CROSBY,  JR. 

Born  in  South  Boston,  August  21,  1841,  and  early  moved  to 
Brewster.  He  commanded  the  "  George  Darby."  He  gave  up 
going  to  sea  and  settled  in  Brewster;  where  he  is  interested 
in  the  town  affairs,  having  been  selectman,  town  clerk  and 
treasurer.  He  is  now  living  in  Brewster  (1905). 

WILLIAM  CROSS  Y. 

Born  in  Brewster,  August  12,  1811.  He  commanded  ships 
in  the  South  American  trade,  names  of  which  we  have  been 
unable  to  ascertain.  He  was  lost,  while  in  command  of  a 


26  Breicster  Ship  Masters. 

ship,  on  Minots  ledge,  at  the  entrance  to  Boston  harbor,  in  the 
severe  gale  of  April,  1851. 

ZENAS   CROSBY. 

Born  in  Brewster,  February  3,  1817.  Among  other  ships 
that  he  commanded  was  the  "  Kingfisher."  A  relative  writes 
as  follows ; 

Once  while  crossing  the  Atlantic  in  the  "  Kingfisher,"  in  a 
severe  northwest  gale,  as  he  and  his  mate  were  taking  the 
sun,  they  were  struck  by  a  heavy  sea,  which  carried  them  both 
overboard.  The  mate  sank  from  sight  at  once,  but  Captain 
Crosby,  when  being  carried  over  the  side,  grasped  a  rope  and 
took  a  double  turn  around  his  arm  as  he  was  going  into  the 
sea.  The  man  at  the  wheel  saw  what  had  happened  and  rang 
the  bell ;  the  watch  rushed  aft,  caught  the  other  end  of  the 
rope  and  hauled  him  on  board.  He  was  severely  wrenched,  so 
that  he  was  unable  to  stand  on  deck,  and  he  was  lashed  to 
deck-house  that  he  might  direct  the  sailing  of  the  ship  all  that 
afternoon.  This  occurred  on  the  voyage  from  1851  to  1853. 
He  died  at  La  Paz,  Lower  California,  while  in  command  of 
ship  "  Kingfisher." 

JAMES  S.  DILLINGHAM. 

He  was  born  in  South  Harwich,  December  24,  1831.  He 
commanded  ships  "Nabob,"  "Blue  Jacket"  and  "Snow 
Squall,"  and  steamer  "  Finance,"  in  the  Brazil  trade. 

Mrs.  Dillingham,  now  of  Chelsea,  has  sent  us  the  following 
account  of  the  chase  of  the  ship  by  a  Confederate  privateer : 

In  Civil  War  time  one  of  the  lineal  descendants  of  the 
Dillinghain  family  of  Brewster,  Captain  James  S.  Dillingham, 
Jr.,  in  command  of  the  ship  «  Snow  Squall,"  had  an  experience 
most  exciting,  and  it  should  be  known  to  all  who  dwell  in 
Brewster,  as  a  narrow  escape  from  the  hands  of  those  who 
commanded  bark  «  Tuscaloosa."  Communications  from  friends 


W.  B.  DINSMORE 


JBrewster  Ship  Masters.  27 

at  home  at  that  time  were  long  delayed,  and  for  six  months 
the  captain  had  no  news  relating  to  the  privateering  business, 
and  did  not  know  that  a  sailing  vessel  was  used  for  that 
purpose.  After  loading  the  "Snow  Squall"  at  Singapore, 
partially,  and  finishing  at  Penang,  the  good  ship  started  from 
Penang  for  New  York.  After  a  very  quick  and  pleasant 
passage  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  one  noon  a  sail  was  seen  by 
the  man  at  the  wheel  low  down  on  the  horizon,  looking  just  a 
speck ;  but  she  was  watched,  of  course,  with  interest  by  all  on 
board  the  "Snow  Squall."  She  gradually  came  towards  us, 
and  Captain  Dillingham,  thinking  she  needed  assistance  in 
some  way,  hoisted  the  flag  of  his  country  on  the  ship.  At 
once  the  stars  and  stripes  were  flying  on  the  stranger.  After 
awhile  Captain  Dillingham  and  his  mate,  Mr.  Sears,  were 
noticed  talking  very  seriously  together,  and  had  discovered 
that  the  newcomer  had  portholes  in  her  side.  Coming  to 
windward  of  us,  she  took  the  wind  from  our  sails,  and  she  was 
so  near  to  us  that  the  two  captains  did  not  have  to  use  their 
trumpets  in  order  to  be  heard.  The  captain  of  the  privateer 
said,  "What  ship  is  that?"  to  Captain  Dillingham.  "The 
ship  « Snow  Squall,' "  he  replied,  "  from  Penang  to  New  York." 
And  "What  ship  is  that?"  said  Captain  D.  to  the  other 
captain.  "  You  heave  to  and  I'll  send  some  one  aboard  to  tell 
you,"  he  said ;  and  in  an  instant  open  flew  the  portholes,  and 
the  after  gun  was  fired  at  us,  the  stars  and  stripes  were  hauled 
down  and  the  Confederate  flag  hoisted  in  its  place. 

I  presume  visions  of  their  good  luck  filled  the  minds  of 
those  officers  on  board  the  "  Tuscaloosa,"  but  they  were 
to  be  disappointed.  "Aye,  aye,"  said  Captain  Dillingham,  as  if 
he  were  going  to  comply  with  the  request,  and  as  there  was 
some  commotion  on  the  "  Snow  Squall,"  they  probably  thought 
it  all  meant  that  soon  they  would  be  on  board.  In  the  mean- 
time, the  "  Snow  Squall "  had  moved  a  little  ahead  and  got  a 
portion  of  the  breeze  in  her  sails.  When  the  "  Tuscaloosa " 
people  saw  that,  they  fired  another  gun,  but  as  the  sea  was  a 


28  JBrewster  Ship  Masters. 

rolling  one,  the  guns  did  no  damage  and  were  doubtless  fired 
to  intimidate. 

Captain  Dillingham  was  not  so  easily  frightened,  and  knew 
his  ship  could  beat  almost  anything  in  sailing  close  to  the 
wind;  the  chase  began  and  lasted  till  nearly  night  time.  At 
four  o'clock  the  "  Tuscaloosa  "  fired  a  broadside  at  us,  to  say 
they  gave  up  the  chase ;  but  Captain  Dillingham  remained  on 
deck  all  night  to  watch  the  steering  of  the  ship  and  to  look 
for  the  approach  of  another  privateer,  should  another  come 
that  way,  and  he  used  to  say  he  was  not  looking  for  any  other 
vessels  all  the  way  to  New  York.  A  plucky  man  and  a  sharp 
fine  sailing  vessel  saved  the  "  Snow  Squall "  and  its  valuable 
cargo,  and  it  was  appreciated  by  the  underwriters,  who  very 
substantially  remembered  him  when  he  arrived  in  New  York. 

Captain  Dillingham  died  while  in  command  of  steamer 
"Finance,"  on  entering  New  York  harbor,  November  14, 1883. 

JOHN  DILLINGHAM. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  February  15,  1824.  He  com- 
manded barks  "Lenox"  and  "Warren  White,"  ship  "Kit 
Carson"  and  steamer  "City  of  Topeka."  He  served  in  the 
navy  during  the  Civil  War.  In  1870  he  removed  to  Titusville, 
Pa.,  in  a  manufacturing  business.  Later  he  settled  in  San 
Diego,  California,  where  he  died  in  1895. 

ALBER  T  D  UNBAR. 

Born  in  Dartmouth,  Massachusetts,  July  17,  1811.  He 
removed  to  Brewster,  about  1840.  He  commanded  barks 
"Altof  Oak"  and  "Magnolia"  and  ships  " Brewster,"  " North 
America"  and  others.  He  retired  from  the  sea  in  1854,  and 
was  of  the  firm  of  Dunbar  &  Colby,  brokers  and  shipowners, 
in  New  York.  He  removed  to  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  about  1858, 
where  he  died  January  1,  1864. 

ALBERT  H.  DUNBAR. 
He  was  born  in  Yarmouth,  July  21,  1837,  and  came  to 


Brewster  Ship  Masters.  29 

Brewster  with  his  parents  in  1840.  He  commanded  ships 
"Josiah  Bradlee,"  "Alhambra,"  "Gardner  Colby,"  "Thacher 
Magoun,"  "  Kentuckian  "  and  "  Grecian."  While  in  command 
of  the  "  Grecian,"  she  was  wrecked  in  the  China  sea  on  her 
passage  from  Manila  to  Boston  in  1889.  After  retiring  from 
the  sea  he  settled  in  San  Diego,  California,  where  he  died 
February  15,  1892. 

BENJAMIN  FESSENDEN. 

Born  in  Brewster,  August  11,  1810.  He  had  command  of 
several  ships,  among  them  being  the  ship  "Brewster."  He 
died  in  Brewster,  July,  1874. 

ISAAC  FESSENDEN. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  August  24,  1834.  He  had  charge 
among  other  ships  of  the  "Mountain  Wave."  He  died  in 
Brewster  in  August,  1884. 

JOHN  FITZ. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster  in  1856.  He  was  the  son  of  John 
and  Margaret  Fitz  of  Scotland.  He  was  mate  of  ship  "  St.  John 
Smith"  for  several  voyages.  Later  as  captain  of  the  same 
ship  he  sailed  from  Liverpool  for  San  Francisco  with  a  cargo 
of  coal  and  was  never  heard  from.  The  ship  was  supposed  to 
have  foundered.  This  was  in  1882. 

BAILEY  FOSTER. 

Born  in  Brewster,  September  9,  1809.  The  names  of  the 
ships  that  he  commanded  cannot  be  ascertained  other  than  the 
ship  "  Santa  Claus,"  of  which  he  was  master  for  several  years. 
He  died  in  Brewster,  June,  1892. 


30  Brewster  Ship  Masters. 

BARNA  GOBB  FOSTER. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  February  28,  1825.  He  com- 
manded the  ship  "  Faneuil  Hall,"  and  died  in  Brewster  in  1850. 

BENJAMIN  FOSTER. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  September  27,  1772.  He  was  a 
sea  captain  and  filled  important  town  offices,  being  treasurer 
in  1818  and  town  clerk,  both  of  which  he  held  for  six  years. 
He  died  March  10,  1848. 

ELISHA  FOSTER. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  October  1,  1794.  He  commanded 
several  ships,  the  names  of  which  cannot  be  ascertained.  He 
always  lived  in  Brewster,  where  he  died  September  12,  1873. 

ELISHA  FOSTER,  JR. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  December  4, 1825.  He  commanded 
a  ship  that  was  lost  on  Nantucket  shoals,  the  name  of  which 
is  not  known.  He  died  in  Brewster,  December  29,  1852. 

FRANK  B.  FOSTER. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  September,  1842.  He  commanded 
barque  "Celeste  Clark"  and  ships  "Kentuckian"  and 
"  Nonantum."  He  died  on  the  passage  from  San  Francisco  to 
Liverpool,  in  command  of  ship  "  Nonantum,"  and  was  buried 
at  sea. 

FREEMAN  FOSTER. 

He  was  born  in  Harwich,  now  Brewster,  May  1,  1782.  He 
commanded  the  brig  "Rice  Plant,"  ships  "Ten  Brothers," 
"  Choctaw  "  and  others. 


CAPT.  FREEMAN  FOSTER 


Brewster  Ship  Masters.  31 

The  grandchildren  of  Captain  Foster  have  furnished  the 
following  sketch  of  his  career : 

Tradition  says  that  he  was  an  unusually  large,  sturdy  boy, 
and  began  seafaring  at  the  age  of  ten,  sailing  on  fishing  trips 
with  his  father,  David  Foster,  who  had  been  a  whaler.  At 
the  age  of  fourteen  he  shipped  in  the  merchant  service  and 
soon  worked  his  way  to  the  quarter-deck.  His  opportunities 
for  education  were  limited,  the  years  of  his  boyhood  being 
employed  on  the  farm  when  not  engaged  in  fishing ;  neverthe- 
less, he  acquired  what  was  considered  in  those  days  a  good 
business  training,  as  some  of  his  account  books  still  in 
existence  show.  So  far  as  known,  he  commanded  the  ship 
"  Ten  Brothers."  He  made  several  voyages  in  the  brig  "  Rice 
Plant"  before  1831,  and  superintended  the  building  of  the 
"  Choctaw  "  and  sailed  in  her  in  1832.  She  was  built  in  Bristol, 
Maine,  and  was  Captain  Foster's  last  ship.  The  "Ten 
Brothers  "  was  about  250  tons.  This  ship  has  a  special  history, 
which  is  given  elsewhere. 

An  old  charter  party  of  the  brig  "  Rice  Plant "  says  she  was 
"  one  hundred  and  twenty-three  tons  burthen  or  thereabouts, 
to  go  to  Matanzas  in  Cuba,  to  St.  Petersburg  in  Russia  and 
back  to  Boston.  21  day  February,  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  thirty-one." 

His  voyages  were  confined  to  the  North  Atlantic,  he  never 
having  crossed  the  line.  His  work  was  between  Boston  and 
the  West  Indies,  New  Orleans  and  the  Russian  ports  of 
Archangel  and  Cronstadt,  and  to  Elsinore. 

About  the  age  of  fifty -five  he  retired  to  his  farm  in  Brewster, 
where  he  resided  until  his  death. 

During  the  war  of  1812,  he  served  as  captain  of  the  militia, 
and  "April  11,  1815,  Gen.  Cobb  of  the  third  brigade  appointed 
Freeman  Foster  brigade  quartermaster." 

About  the  time  that  peace  was  declared,  the  Brewster 
Militia  company,  Freeman  Foster,  captain,  marched  to  Well- 
fleet  on  military  duty.  On  the  march  home,  when  Captain 


32  Hrewster  Ship  Masters. 

Foster's  house  was  reached,  the  company  halted  and  placing 
the  flag  opposite  the  house  saluted  it  by  firing  their  muskets. 
One  shot  accidentally  struck  the  flag,  and  they  continued 
firing  salutes  until  the  colors  were  in  tatters.  On  his  return 
from  his  next  voyage  Captain  Foster  presented  a  new  flag  and 
staff  to  the  town. 

He  was  twice  chosen  representative  to  the  general  court. 

He  was  an  early  convert  to  Universalism,  and  was  one  of 
the  founders  of  that  church  in  Brewster. 

Captain  Foster  was  of  commanding  presence,  standing  over 
six  feet  and  stout  in  proportion.  He  had  a  family  of  ten 
children  and  left  behind  him  a  reputation  for  strict  integrity 
and  sterling  manhood.  He  died  February  25,  1870. 

NEMAN  FOSTER. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  January  11, 1799.  He  commanded 
the  brig  "Stephen"  for  several  years  in  the  Mediterranean 
trade  and  died  in  Havana  in  1833. 

ISAAC  FOSTER. 

Born  in  Brewster,  October  23, 1770.  He  commanded  sloop 
"Stork,"  brig  "Byfield,"  and  ship  "George  Porter."  His 
grandson,  George  T.  Foster,  writes  as  follows : 

I  understand  that  the  "George  Porter"  was  the  first 
American  ship  to  enter  the  port  of  Archangel,  Russia.  He 
was  taken  by  a  French  letter  of  marque  in  the  English 
channel,  while  in  the  brig  « Byfield."  He  died  in  Brewster, 
January  4, 1855.  He  was  a  man  of  prominence  and  was  sent 
representative  to  the  general  court. 

JONATHAN  FOSTER. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  May  22,  1790.  He  commanded 
ship  «  Konohassett "  and  others,  whose  names  are  not  known 
to  the  writer.  He  died  in  Brewster,  January,  1862. 


JZrewster  Shij)  Masters.  33 

JOSEPH  FOSTER. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  June  17,  1824.  He  commanded 
schooner  "Melita"  and  bark  "Tally  Ho"  in  the  Central 
American  and  Mediterranean  trade.  He  was  one  of  the 
Brewster  people  who  went  to  California  in  1849,  in  the  vessel 
with  Captain  Benjamin  Snow  Crosby.  He  died  in  Brewster, 
May  19,  1881. 

NATHAN  F.  FOSTER. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  December  4, 1833.  He  commanded 
ships  "  Expounder,"  "  Morning  Star,"  "  W.  B.  Dinsmore  "  and 
"  Centaur." 

While  in  command  of  the  "W.  B.  Dinsmore,"  on  the 
passage  from  Liverpool  to  Bombay,  the  ship  took  fire  by 
spontaneous  combustion  of  the  cargo  of  coal,  the  crew  being 
rescued  by  an  English  ship.  Later,  while  in  command  of  ship 
"  Centaur,"  on  the  passage  from  Liverpool  to  San  Francisco, 
the  ship  took  fire  in  the  same  way,  and  was  abandoned  by  the 
crew.  They  left  the  ship  in  three  boats.  Two  succeeded  in 
reaching  the  island  of  Tahiti ;  the  third  boat,  in  which  was 
the  captain,  was  never  heard  from.  It  was  supposed  she  was 
lost  during  a  storm  the  night  after  leaving  the  ship,  August, 
1874. 

WILLIAM  LOW  FOSTER. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  September  30,  1822.  He  com- 
manded barques  "Tom"  and  "Maria,"  and  ships  "Morning 
Star,"  "Malabar,"  "Pride  of  the  Port,"  "Belle  of  the  Sea"  and 
"Celeste  Clark."  He  died  in  Brewster,  January  2,  1876. 

CHARLES  H.  FREEMAN. 

Born  in  Brewster,  June   29,   1853.     He  commanded  ships 


84  Brewster  Ship  Masters. 

"  Mystic  Belle "  and  "James  A.  Wright."  He  was  wrecked  in 
ship  "  Calcutta "  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  in  August,  1882, 
when  thirteen  men  of  the  crew  were  lost  and  the  ship  was  a 
total  loss.  He  is  at  present  (1905)  master  of  the  steamer 
"  El  Monte,"  sailing  between  New  York  and  New  Orleans. 

CHARLES  FREEMAN. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  June  15,  1822.  He  commanded 
whaling  ships,  making  long  voyages  in  the  Pacific  and  Arctic 
oceans.  His  ships  hailed  from  Stonington,  Connecticut.  The 
last  ship  was  the  "Betsey  Williams."  The  names  of  the 
others  are  not  ascertained.  He  died  in  Brewster,  1890. 

BENJAMIN  FREEMAN. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  December,  1808.  He  commanded 
ships  "  Ellen  Brooks,"  «  Coromandel,"  "  Scargo,"  "  Climax  "  and 
several  others.  He  retired  from  the  sea  in  1855.  He  always 
lived  in  Brewster,  where  he  died,  August,  1884. 

GEORGE  FREEMAN. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  April  20,  1826.  He  had  charge 
of  ships  « Catherine,"  «  Chattanooga,"  "Mary  Whittridge "  and 
"Anahuac."  In  early  life  he  began  going  to  sea  as  a  fisherman, 
but  gave  that  up,  and  learned  a  carpenter's  trade.  Later  he 
went  to  Oregon,  where  he  spent  some  time,  then  returned  to 
Boston.  Then  began  his  seafaring  life  in  earnest.  In  1884 
he  sailed  from  New  York  in  the  "Anahuac  "  for  Australia  and 
thence  for  Sourbaya,  Jave,  where  he  died,  November  14,  1884. 

HORACE  FREEMAN. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  August,  1838.  The  first  and  only 
ship  he  had  charge  of  was  the  «  Memnon,"  and  he  died  while 
in  command  of  her  in  Batavia,  May,  1865. 


CAPT.  SOLOMON  FREEMAN 


Brewster  Ship  Masters.  35 

JOHN  FREEMAN. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  March  25,  1800.  He  commanded 
the  bark  "Arab"  and  ship  "George  Thacher."  He  retired 
early  in  life  and  settled  in  Brewster,  where  he  died,  July  2, 
1864. 

JOHN  FREEMAN,  JR. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  August,  1885.  He  had  charge  of 
ships  "  Sybil,"  "  Kentuckian,"  barques  "  National  Eagle,"  "Guy 
C.  Goss"  and  "Pilgrim."  Upon  retiring  from  the  sea,  he 
engaged  in  the  ship  chandlery  business  in  Boston.  Later  he 
removed  to  his  farm  in  Brewster,  where  he  died  June  17, 1900. 

JOSHUA  FREEMAN. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  December  12,  1806.  He  com- 
manded ships  "Alexander  "  and  "  Gertrude  "  and  others  whose 
names  cannot  be  ascertained.  He  died  in  New  York  in  1839. 

JOSHUA  FREEMAN,  JR. 

Born  in  Brewster,  July  10,  1835.  He  commanded  ships 
«  Christopher  Hall,"  "  W.  B.  Dinsmore,"  "  Gold  Hunter  "  and 
"Glory  of  the  Seas."  He  was  master  of  the  "  Gold  Hunter  " 
for  seventeen  years  in  East  India  and  California  trade,  and 
was  for  eighteen  years  in  charge  of  the  "  Glory  of  the  Seas." 
He  is  now  (1905)  in  business  in  Victoria,  British  Columbia. 

SOLOMON  FREEMAN. 

Born  in  Brewster  in  February,  1800.  He  had  charge  of  the 
brig  "Margaret"  and  ship  "Malabar"  and  others,  whose 
names  cannot  be  ascertained.  He  retired  from  the  sea  early. 
He  was  representative  to  the  general  court  for  several  terms, 


36  JSrewst&r  Ship  Masters. 

and  was  prominent  and  interested  in  all  town  affairs.    He 
died  in  Brewster  in  April,  1887. 

SOLOMON  FREEMAN,  JR. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  April  9,  1833.  He  was  in 
command  of  ship  "  Franklin,"  and  died  on  board  in  London, 
February,  1862. 

WILLIAM  FREEMAN. 

He  was  born  in  Beverly,  January,  1820.  He  had  command 
of  ships  "Maine,"  "Undaunted,"  "Kingfisher,"  "Monsoon," 
"Mogul,"  "Ocean  King"  and  "Jabez  Howes,"  the  steamers 
"Zenobia,"  "Palmyra"  and  "Edward  Everett." 

Captain  Freeman  writes  as  follows : 

In  November,  1853,  on  the  passage  from  Liverpool  to  Bath, 
the  "Maine"  was  lost  on  a  bar  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kennebec 
river. 

In  1859,  soon  after  leaving  Boston  on  the  ship  "  Undaunted," 
a  part  of  the  crew  mutinied,  and  I  was  severely  wounded ;  but 
after  a  consultation  with  the  officers  I  decided  to  go  on  and 
finish  the  voyage  to  St.  John,  N".  S.,  where  the  mutineers  were 
turned  over  to  the  U.  S.  consul  and  by  him  sent  back  to 
Boston. 

On  the  passage  of  the  ship  "  Mogul "  from  Liverpool  to  San 
Francisco  the  cargo  of  coal  took  fire  by  spontaneous  combustion 
on  July  26.  We  remained  by  the  ship  until  August  the  7th, 
when  we  were  compelled  to  leave.  Having  prepared  three 
boats,  we  divided  the  crew  of  twenty-seven  men  as  equally  as 
possible,  and  at  seven  o'clock  on  the  evening  of  August  7,  in 
latitude  17.53  south,  longitude  100  deg.  25  min.  west,  we  left 
the  ship  with  instructions  to  try  to  reach  the  Marquesas 
islands,  2100  miles  distant.  This,  all  were  fortunate  enough 
to  do,  after  eleven  and  twelve  days.  Remained  on  the  island 
five  days,  when  we  were  taken  in  a  small  sloop  to  the  island 


CAPTAIN  WILLIAM  FREEMAN 


Brewster  Ship  Masters.  37 

of  Nukahioa,  where  we  found  the  French  governor  and  placed 
ourselves  in  his  care.  After  about  two  weeks  we  were  taken 
in  a  schooner  to  Tahiti,  and  from  there  were  sent  by  the  TJ.  S. 
consul  to  San  Francisco,  where  we  arrived  four  months  after 
leaving  the  ship. 

He  is  at  present  living  in  Brewster. 

JOSEPH  HIGGINS. 

Date  and  place  of  birth  unknown,  but  he  lived  for  many 
years  in  Brewsfcer.  He  had  command  of  the  ship  "St. 
Charles,"  which  was  wrecked  on  Baker's  island,  in  the  South 
Pacific  ocean,  while  loading  guano,  1870.  Place  of  death 
unknown. 

WILLARD  HIGGINS. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster  in  1826.  He  had  charge  of  ship 
"Colchis,"  «T.  H.  Perkins,"  "Augusta  Norwood,"  "Sarah  H. 
Snow  "  and  "  Chattanooga."  He  died  in  Queenstown  in  1866, 
while  in  command  of  the  "  Chattanooga." 

CHARLES  HOPKINS. 

Born  in  Brewster,  February  25,  1835.  He  commanded  ships 
"Kingfisher,"  "Mountain  Wave"  and  "Santa  Claus"  and 
brig  "  Lorana."  He  died  while  in  command  of  brig  "  Lorana  " 
in  Havana  and  was  buried  there,  October  24,  1866. 

REUBEN  HOPKINS. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  February  26,  1801.  He  had 
command  of  the  barque  "  Binney,"  ships  "  Oxenbridge," 
"  Berkshire  "  and  "  Cape  Cod."  He  retired  from  the  sea  early» 
and  removed  to  Arlington,  where  he  died  January  22,  1877. 


38  JBrewster  Ship  Masters. 

GODFREY  HOPKINS. 

Born  in  Brewster,  January  4,  1804.  He  was  master  of  the 
brig  "  Senator  "  and  several  others  whose  names  have  not  been 
ascertained.  He  died  in  Brewster. 

GODFREY  HOPKINS,  JR. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  January  15, 1832.  He  commanded 
bark  "Carib,"  ships  "Australia,"  "Joseph  Holmes"  and 
"  William  Brown."  While  in  charge  of  the  ship  "Australia," 
she  was  lost  near  the  port  of  Akyab.  He  then  took  charge  of 
the  ship  "Joseph  Holmes,"  lying  in  the  port  of  Bassein,  taking 
the  place  of  Captain  Charles  Crosby,  who  had  lately  died 
there.  Later,  while  master  of  the  "  William  Brown,"  she  was 
lost  in  a  hurricane  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  bound  to  Galveston. 
He  retired  from  the  sea  about  1870,  and  was  interested  in  town 
affairs  up  to  the  time  of  his  death,  February,  1902. 

FRANKLIN  HOPKINS. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  August  12,  1802.  While  a 
young  man  he  commanded  vessels  in  the  coasting  trade 
and  also  in  the  West  India  trade.  Later  he  conducted  a 
lumber  business  in  Charlestown,  where  he  settled,  and  died  in 
Charlestown  in  1868. 

R  OBER  T  IR  VINE. 

He  was  born  at  the  Shetland  Islands,  about  1835,  and  came 
to  this  country  while  a  boy,  making  Brewster  his  home.  He 
commanded  the  bark  "  Cochituate  "  and  ships  "  Sunrise  "  and 
"Expounder."  On  retiring  from  sea,  he  entered  into  the 
lightering  business  in  Galveston,  Texas,  and  died  there  in  1895. 

ALBERT  F.  KNOWLES. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  December   8,   1839.    He  com- 


CAPT.  REUBEN  HOPKINS. 


Hrewster  Ship  Masters.  39 

manded  ships  "Richard  Busteed,"  "Western  Star"  and 
"Southern  Eagle."  While  in  command  of  ship  "Southern 
Eagle,"  on  the  passage  from  Rangoon  to  Liverpool,  was 
supposed  to  have  been  lost  in  a  typhoon  about  May  1, 1870. 

ALLEN  II.  KNO  WLES. 

He  was  born  in  Eastham,  June  12,  1814.  He  removed  to 
Brewster  about  1843.  He  commanded  ships  "Coquimbo," 
"Albatross,"  "R.  C.  Winthrop,"  "Western  Star,"  "Chariot  of 
Fame,"  "Agenor"  and  "Conqueror."  He  removed  to  Yar- 
mouth, where  he  died,  July  5, 1875. 

ELIJAH  E.  KNO  WLES. 

He  was  born  in  Orleans,  September  5,  1829.  His  family 
removed  to  Brewster  when  he  was  very  young.  He  com- 
manded bark  "  Lillic,"  ships  "  White  Swallow,"  "  Nonantum  " 
and  "  Landseer."  After  retiring  from  the  sea  in  1882,  he  took 
an  interest  in  town  affairs.  He  was  a  director  in  the  Cape  Cod 
National  Bank,  trustee  of  the  cemetery,  and  prominent  in 
affairs  of  the  church. 

HENR  T  KNO  WLES. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  July  20,  1834.  He  commanded 
ships  "Albatross,"  «  Western  Star  "  and  "  Belle  Creble."  After 
retiring  from  the  sea.  he  removed  to  Rockford,  Illinois,  where 
he  died,  July  27,  1893. 

JO  SI  AH  N.  KNO  WLES. 

He  was  born  in  Eastham,  May  26,  1830.  He  was  master  of 
ships  "  Wild  Wave,"  "  Kentuckian,"  "  Charger  "  and  "  Glory  of 
the  Seas." 


40  Brcvister  Ship  Masters. 

The  following  account  of  the  loss  of  the  ship  "Wild  Wave" 
is  taken  from  Capt.  Knowles's  diary : 

On  February  9,  while  in  command  of  the  fine  clipper  ship 
"Wild  Wave,"  of  1500  tons,  with  a  crew  of  thirty,  all  told, 
and  ten  passengers,  on  the  passage  from  San  Francisco  to 
Valparaiso,  the  ship  was  wrecked. 

On  March  5,  at  1  a.  m.,  the  ship  was  going  at  the  rate  of 
thirteen  knots  an  hour,  when  the  lookout  reported  "  breakers 
under  the  lee."  So  near  were  we  to  the  reef  and  so  great  our 
speed,  we  could  not  avoid  running  upon  it,  and  in  less  than 
five  minutes  the  ship  was  on  a  coral  reef,  full  of  water  and  the 
sea  breaking  over  her.  At  daybreak  we  discovered  we  were 
on  Oeno  island,  which  is  about  half  a  mile  in  circumference. 
We  landed  passengers  and  crew,  with  sails  for  tents,  and 
provisions.  Water  we  found  by  digging  on  the  island.  After 
remaining  on  the  island  nearly  two  weeks,  I  selected  my  boat 
crew  —  the  mate,  Mr.  Bartlett,  and  five  of  the  men  —  and  set 
out  in  a  boat  for  Pitcairns  island  about  one  hundred  miles 
away.  I  had  upwards  of  $18,000  in  gold,  which  I  took  with  us 
in  the  boat. 

When  we  reached  Pitcairns,  we  found  to  our  great  surprise 
that  the  former  residents  had  left  for  Norfolk  island,  and 
notices  to  that  effect  were  posted  in  many  of  the  houses. 
Again  we  were  on  an  uninhabited  island ;  but  here  we  found 
plenty  of  fruit,  such  as  oranges,  bananas,  bread  fruit,  cocoanuts, 
etc.,  also  sheep,  goats,  bullocks  and  chickens,  the  latter  in 
abundance.  A  day  or  two  after  we  landed,  our  boat  was  stove 
by  the  surf  and  rendered  useless.  We  decided  that  we  must 
build  a  boat,  and  collected  from  among  the  houses  six  axes, 
one  hammer  and  a  few  other  tools  and  began  the  boat.  We 
had  to  burn  some  of  the  houses  to  get  nails  and  iron.  The 
timber  we  had  to  cut  -and  hew  as  best  we  could.  The  boat 
was  called  the  "John  Adams"  and  was  finished  and  ready  to 
sail  on  July  23.  An  ensign  was  made  from  the  red  hangings 
of  the  church  pulpit,  white  cotton  from  an  old  shirt  and  the 


CAPTAIN  J.  N.   KXOWLES 


Hrewster  Ship  Masters.  41 

blue  of  a  pair  of  overalls.  The  gold  all  this  time  had  been 
buried  under  the  boat  while  building.  Captain  Knowles  took 
the  gold  and  with  the  mate  and  two  men  started  for  Tahiti, 
lying  about  1500  miles  northwest  from  Pitcairns.  The  other 
three  men  preferred  to  stay  at  Pitcairns.  The  wind  being 
unfavorable  we  headed  for  Marquesas. 

August  4,  we  reached  the  island  of  Nukahiva,  and  to  our 
great  joy  found  there  the  TJ.  S.  sloop  of  war  "Vandalia." 
There  was  a  French  settlement  on  the  island,  but  no  American 
here  ship  had  been  for  nearly  five  years.  The  next  day  I 
sold  the  boat  to  the  missionary  and  the  "  Vandalia  "  sailed  for 
Oeno  and  Pitcairns  by  way  of  Tahiti. 

On  reaching  Tahiti,  Captain  Knowles  was  offered  passage  to 
Honolulu  on  the  French  frigate  "  Eurydice."  The  "  Vandalia  " 
sailed  for  Oeno  with  the  mate,  Mr.  Bartlett,  who  had  joined 
her  as  an  officer,  and  rescued  the  people  left  at  Oeno  and 
Pitcairns.  After  a  passage  of  sixteen  days  the  "Eurydice" 
arrived  at  Honolulu,  and  here  Captain  Knowles  found  the 
American  bark  "Yankee"  loading  for  San  Francisco,  and 
sailed  in  her,  arriving  in  San  Francisco,  September  19.  Here 
Captain  Knowles  had  news  from  home,  but  there  was  no 
overland  telegraph  then  and  only  a  pony  express  to  take  the 
mails. 

October  6,  Captain  Knowles  sailed  for  New  York,  via 
Panama,  on  the  steamer  "Golden  Gate,"  where  he  arrived 
October  28,  and  where  he  could  telegraph  to  his  own  people. 
This  was  the  first  news  they  had  had  of  him  in  all  that  time. 

Fourteen  years  afterwards,  in  the  ship  "  Glory  of  the  Seas," 
Captain  Knowles  stopped  at  Pitcairns  island.  A  boat  came 
alongside  with  the  governor  of  the  island  on  board,  who  was 
much  surprised  to  find  this  was  the  Captain  Knowles  who  had 
been  wrecked  and  on  that  island,  and  who  had  left  a  record  of 
his  doings  while  there.  He  went  on  shore  with  them  and  was 
greeted  very  cordially  by  all  the  people.  When  he  left,  they 
followed  him  to  the  boats,  each  having  a  present,  which 


42  Hreicster  Ship  Masters. 

consisted  of  oranges,  bread  fruit,  bananas,  chickens,  ducks  and 

even  sheep enough  to  load  a  boat.    Years  afterwards,  when 

settled  in  San  Francisco,  the  governor  of  the  island  always 
visited  Captain  Knowles  whenever  he  came  there. 

After  leaving  the  sea,  Captain  Knowles  engaged  in  business 
in  San  Francisco,  where  he  died,  June  10,  1896. 

THOMAS  KNOWLES. 

He  was  born  in  Eastham,  April  22,  1823.  He  removed  with 
his  family  to  Brewster  about  1843.  He  died  on  the  passage  to 
San  Francisco,  April  2,  1852,  and  was  buried  in  San  Francisco. 

WIN  SLOW  L.  KNOWLES. 

He  was  born  in  Eastham,  July,  1789.  He  removed  to 
Brewster  in  1843.  He  commanded  several  ships  in  the 
Valparaiso  and  South  American  trade;  among  them  were  ships 
"  Chili,"  "  Sophia,"  "  Coquimbo  "  and  "Albatross."  He  died  in 
Brewster,  January  26,  1870. 

Mr.  George  W.  Higgins,  formerly  of  Brewster,  has  sent  us 
the  following  account  of  his  brother,  John  Higgins,  who, 
although  not  a  shipmaster,  was  a  Brewster  man  and  had  an 
unusual  experience : 

My  brother,  John  Higgins,  in  1849,  sailed  to  San  Francisco 
with  Captain  Winslow  Knowles.  He  heard  of  the  great 
wealth  of  the  Australian  gold  mines  and  decided  to  go.  He 
worked  his  passage  on  the  steamer  "  Monumental  City."  She 
was  wrecked  on  the  coast  of  Australia,  and  only  half  of  her 
passengers  and  crew  were  saved,  John  being  one.  He  then 
shipped  on  a  brig  as  second  mate  on  a  trading  voyage,  and 
was  again  wrecked. 

We  did  not  hear  from  him  for  a  year  or  so,  and  we  mourned 
for  him  as  dead.  After  a  long  time,  a  New  Bedford  whaler 
from  the  Wellington  islands,  which  is  of  the  Caroline  group, 


CAPT.  WINSLOW  L.  KNOWLES 


Hrewster  Ship  Masters.  43 

brought  us  a  letter  from  him.  These  islands  are  in  about  6, 
north  latitude.  After  his  last  wreck  he  had  in  some  way 
drifted  there.  It  was  inhabited  by  about  six  hundred  harmless 
savages.  John  went  right  among  them  and  soon  became  their 
leader.  The  old  chief  learned  to  love  him  as  if  he  were  his 
son,  in  fact,  John  married  the  chief's  daughter.  He  taught 
them  to  build  houses,  to  clothe  themselves,  and  the  sanctity  of 
marriage.  He  became  almost  an  idol  among  them,  and  the 
whole  tribe  was  like  his  great  family.  I  think  this  was  in 
1856  or  '57.  Two  sons  were  born  to  him. 

The  missionary  brig  "Morning  Star  "  visits  all  these  islands, 
and  in  a  little  book  published  by  this  organization  they  speak 
of  my  brother,  saying,  "  John  Higgins  of  Brewster  has  done 
more  towards  civilizing  these  natives  than  any  missionary 
possibly  could." 

Let  me  mention  here  that  this  brig  "  Morning  Star  "  was 
built  in  East  Boston  by  Sunday  school  children  all  over  the 
world.  Stock  was  issued  at  ten  cents  a  share,  which  the 
children  bought.  Ten  thousand  dollars  was  the  amount 
asked  for,  but  the  money  came  pouring  in  until  thirty  thousand 
was  raised.  The  first  vessel  was  wrecked.  The  third  or 
fourth  is  running  now.  At  one  time  a  captain  from  Yarmouth 
sailed  one, — I  do  not  remember  his  name. 

To  return  to  my  brother,  he  established  a  regular  trading 
business  with  whalers,  raising  hogs,  making  cocoa  oil,  and 
gathering  tortoise  shell.  The  whole  family  (all  the  natives) 
were  his  workers,  and  in  return  he  supplied  them  with  every- 
thing they  needed.  Captain  Charles  Freeman  stopped  and 
made  him  a  little  visit  on  one  of  his  whaling  voyages. 

In  1862  or  '63,  some  natives  from  an  adjoining  island,  who 
were  jealous  of  the  prosperity  of  John's  island,  came  over 
there  and  got  into  a  fight  with  some  of  John's  people.  He 
stepped  between  them  to  stop  the  fracas,  when  one  of  the 
other  islanders  stabbed  and  killed  him.  His  own  people  were 
so  enraged  that  they  tore  the  intruders  limb  from  limb,  and 


44  Brewster  Ship  Masters. 

then  cast  them  into  the  sea  for  the  sharks,  which,  according  to 
one  of  their  superstitions,  is  the  most  dreadful  thing  that  can 
happen  to  one,  dead  or  alive,  as  it  means  no  future  life  for 
them. 

John's  effects  were  put  on  board  a  New  Bedford  whaler  to 
be  brought  home.  My  father  not  receiving  them  wrote  to  the 
owner  of  the  vessel  to  find  out  the  reason,  and  learned  that 
the  captain  had  proved  to  be  unworthy,  and  they  were  obliged 
to  send  some  one  for  the  vessel.  Through  him  they  lost 
twenty  thousand  dollars,  and  of  course  John's  effects  were 
gone,  too.  They  consisted  chiefly  in  silver  dollars  taken  in 
trading  with  whalers. 

His  boys  have  grown  to  manhood.  The  elder,  Harry,  was  a 
protegee  of  a  Captain  Tripp,  who  brought  him  up  almost  as  a 
son.  The  other,  John,  married  a  Carrie  Sturgis,  a  half  breed, 
whose  father  was  a  Massachusetts  man.  Both  he  and  his  wife 
were  educated  by  the  missionaries,  and,  until  the  death  of  his 
wife,  teachers  among  the  natives,  doing  wonderful  work  on 
account  of  speaking  their  language.  They  had  a  boy  and  girl 
born  to  them,  and  they  are  growing  up  to  be  a  fine  man  and 
woman. 

My  son  Edward  of  Chicago  has  ordered  John's  estate  to  be 
placed  in  exactly  the  same  condition  as  before  the  typhoon, 
which  lately  swept  across  the  island  and  destroyed  the 
buildings,  at  his  expense,  and  we  have  sent  a  large  box  of 
everything  in  the  clothing  line. 

Both  of  John's  sons  visited  my  brother  Thomas  when  he 
was  living  in  Honolulu,  and  in  one  of  his  letters,  Thomas  says, 
"We  need  not  be  ashamed  of  our  brother's  children."  The 
climate,  however,  was  too  cool  for  them  and  began  to  tell  on 
their  constitutions,  and  they  returned  to  their  native  isles. 

WINSL  OW  L.  KNO  WLES,  JR. 

He  was  born  in  Eastham,  May  24,  1817.  Removed  to 
Brewster  about  1843.  He  commanded  several  ships  in  the 


Brewster  Ship  Masters.  45 

Valparaiso  and  East  India  trade,  the  names  of  which  have  not 
been  ascertained.  He  died  in  Calcutta  while  in  command  of 
a  ship,  on  October  5,  1863. 

CHARLES  LINCOLN, 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  Dec.  12,  1804.  He  had  charge  of 
the  brig  "  Carib  "  and  bark  "  Nautilus."  He  was  engaged  for 
many  years  in  the  fruit  trade  between  Boston  and  the 
Mediterranean  ports,  for  William  Worthington  &  Co.  In 
1856,  he  was  appointed  port  warden  of  Boston  by  the  Boston 
Marine  Society,  which  office  he  held  for  twenty  years.  He 
died  in  South  Boston  January  2,  1877. 

DAVID  LINCOLN. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster  Dec.l,  1810.  He  commanded  ships 
"Alexander,"  "South  America,"  "North  America,"  and  others. 
He  died  in  Brewster  July  1,  1873. 

EDGAR  LINCOLN. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster  September,  1829.  He  commanded 
ships  "Pocahontas,"  " T.  B.  Wales,"  "Hercules,"  "Gold  Hun- 
ter," "  Agenor  "  and  "  Charmer."  After  leaving  the  sea  he 
was  appointed  port  warden  of  Boston  and  died  while  in  that 
office  February,  1897. 

FREEMAN  LINCOLN. 

Born  in  Brewster  in  January,  1827,  he  commanded  the 
ship  "Hercules,"  and  several  others,  the  names  of  which  we 
have  been  unable  to  ascertain.  He  died  April  17,  1874. 

JOHN  W.  LINCOLN. 

Capt.  Lincoln  was  born  in  Brewster  in   1827.      He  was  in 


46  lireiester  Skip  Masters. 

command  of  the  ship  "  Kentucky  "  and  died  on  the  passage 
from  San  Francisco  to  Boston  in  1853. 

JOSEPH  LINCOLN. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster  in  1825.  He  had  command  of  the 
barks  «  Mist,"  "  Maria  "  and  "  Aurelia."  He  died  in  Charles- 
ton, S.  C.,  while  in  command  of  the  latter  December,  1870, 
and  was  buried  in  Brewster. 

WARREN  LINCOLN. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  October  22,  1810.  His  daughter, 
Mrs.  Allen,  writes  as  follows  : 

He  began  going  to  sea  quite  young.  When  a  cabin-boy  of 
twelve  years  of  age  he  was  captured  by  pirates.  During  his 
seafaring  life  he  had  command  of  brig  "Draco"  and  bark 
"  Mary."  On  one  of  his  voyages  he  took  his  ship  through  the 
straights  of  Magellan,  an  unusual  event  at  that  time.  He 
rode  by  invitation  on  the  first  train  that  left  Boston  for 
Worcester,  going  as  far  as  Newton  at  the  rate  of  eighteen 
miles  an  hour.  Many  people  asked  what  were  his  sensations 
in  going  at  such  a  fearful  rate.  He  left  the  sea  at  the  age  of 
35  on  account  of  ill  health  and  later  carried  on  a  grocery 
business  or  general  country  store.  He  died  in  Brewster  May 
14, 1900. 

Captain  Lincoln  was  captured  by  pirates  in  1822,  while  on  a 
voyage  in  brig  "  Iris."  The  following  record  of  the  voyage 
is  from  his  pen : 

We  sailed  from  Boston  about  the  first  of  November,  1822, 
in  the  brig  "Iris,"  owned  by  William  Parsons,  Esq.,  of 
Boston.  Our  crew  consisted  of  eleven,  all  told,  viz.:  Freeman 
Mayo,  of  Brewster,  master  ;  Richard  Rich  of  Bucksport,  Me., 
first  mate;  Sylvanus  Crosby  of  Brewster,  second  mate; 
Brewster  Mayo  of  Brewster,  seaman,  who  was  the  first  child 
born  in  Brewster,  or  rather,  he  was  a  twin ;  Josiah  Wkig  of 


FANECTILHALL 


Brewster  Ship  Masters.  47 

Brewster,  seaman ;  two  other  seamen ;  Hooper  of 

Boston,  seaman ;  negro  for  cook ;  Mr.  Greenleaf  of  Baltimore, 
a  passenger,  and  the  cabin  boy  12  years  old  belonging  in 
Brewster  and  the  teller  of  this  story. 

This  wag  my  first  voyage,  and  for  the  first  three  days 
out  I  was  very  homesick  and  seasick.  Nothing  remarkable 
occurred  until  about  the  20th.  We  had  passed  the  Bahama 
Banks  and  passed  the  Double  Headed  Shot  Keys  during  the 
night.  About  sunrise  I  was  called  to  my  duty,  which  was  to 
keep  the  cabin  tidy,  set  the  table,  clear  it  away,  wash 
the  dishes,  etc.  When  I  came  on  deck  the  island  of  Cuba  was 
in  sight  about  30  miles  distant,  the  wind  light,  the  water 
smooth.  We  were  sailing  by  the  wind,  as  the  sailors  term  it, 
"full  and  by."  I  soon  noticed  the  first  mate  in  earnest 
conversation  with  the  man  at  the  helm  and  came  near  enough 
to  hear  the  mate  say  : 

"They  may  be  pirates,"  referring  to  two  vessels  in-shore  of 
us,  "and  I  will  call  the  captain." 

He  went  into  the  cabin  and  called  Captain  Mayo.  His  first 
exclamation,  spy -glass  in  hand,  was, 

"  Damn  'em,  they  are  pirates !  Call  all  hands  on  deck,  put 
up  your  helm  and  keep  her  off ;  square  the  yards,  set  the  fore- 
topmast  studding  sail ;  bear  a  hand ! " 

These  orders  were  speedily  executed.  But  the  wind  being 
light,  it  did  not  increase  our  speed  much.  Again  the  captain 
spied  them  and  saw  they  had  sweeps  out  and  that  their  colors 
were  up ;  the  sweeps  were  large  oars,  well  manned,  the  craft 
low  in  the  water  and  they  could  propel  her  fast  even  in  a 
calm.  One  of  the  crafts  took  after  us  and  the  other  after  a 
schooner  bound  into  Matanzas.  She  proved  to  be  the  "  Mary 
&  Eliza,"  Capt.  Cole,  of  Salem.  The  pirate  in  chase  of  us  fell 
in  our  wake  about  three  miles  astern,  and  was  gaining  on  us. 
Soon  we  saw  a  puff  of  smoke  rise  from  her  deck  and  heard  the 
report  of  a  large  cannon.  This  was  evidently  a  signal  for  us 
to  heave  to.  We,  however,  kept  on  our  course.  By  and  by 


48  Brewster  Ship  Masters. 

another  puff  of  smoke  and  the  dull,  heavy  report  of  a  cannon. 
Capt.  Mayo  then  called  the  officers  and  Mr.  Greenleaf  for 
a  consultation.  It  was  evident  they  were  gaining  rapidly  on 
us  and  would  soon  be  alongside,  and  if  we  kept  on  our  course 
it  would  so  enrage  them  that  when  they  got  on  board  they 
were  likely  to  kill  all  hands.  The  result  of  the  consultation 
was  the  command  to  "  haul  down  the  studding  sail,  down 
helm,  back  the  main  topsail,  and  let  them  come  alongside." 
Officers  and  passenger  went  into  the  cabin  to  hide  their 
valuables.  After  they  came  up  I  went  into  the  cabin  and 
took  from  my  chest  a  pretty  little  wallet  with  small  artificial 
flowers  under  a  crystal  on  the  front  and  containing  three 
dollars  in  bank  bills  and  a  few  coppers,  all  my  treasures.  I  got 
upon  the  transom,  opened  a  small  place  containing  bits  of 
rope,  canvas,  etc.,  called  the  boatswain's  locker,  dug  down  to 
the  bottom  and  there  covered  my  treasure  and  went  on  deck. 
By  this  time  the  pirate  vessel  was  close  to  the  "  Iris,"  and  we 
had  a  fair  view  of  her  deck,  which  was  crowded  with  men  in 
white  duck  frocks  and  trousers  and  wide  brimmed  hats. 
Amidships,  mounted  on  a  pivot,  was  a  24-pound  cannon  and 
on  each  side  several  smaller  cannon.  When  abreast  of  the 
"Iris,"  they  launched  a  boat  and  eight  men,  each  armed  with  a 
sword,  pistol  and  a  long,  wicked  looking  knife,  got  into  her 
and  came  alongside  the  "Iris."  We  put  over  our  gangway 
ladder  and  man-ropes,  trying  to  treat  them  as  politely  as 
possible.  Just  before  they  got  alongside  they  sent  a  pistol 
ball  whizzing  over  our  quarter  deck.  It  was  an  exciting 
moment  when  they  got  hold  of  our  man-ropes  to  come  on 
board,  and  I  saw  pale  faces  among  our  crew.  We  all  feared 
they  would  attack  and  kill  all  hands. 

Captain  Mayo  stood  by  the  gangway.  Six  of  them  came  up 
in  single  file,  and  as  they  stepped  on  deck  one  of  them,  the 
lieutenant,  shook  hands  with  Captain  Mayo  and  asked, 
"  Where  are  you  from,  captain,  and  where  bound  ?  "  "  Bound 
to  New  Orleans."  "Have  you  a  cargo?"  "Only  about  200 


TITAN 


Brewster  Ship  Masters.  49 

boxes  of  axes  and  300  casks  of  nails,  just  to  help  balance  the 
brig."  "Have  you  any  provisions  to  spare?  "We  are  a 
privateer,  cruising  after  pirates ;  have  you  seen  any  ?  "  "  No ; 
I  might  spare  you  some  beef,  pork,  etc."  "Captain,  square 
away  your  maintopsail  and  stand  in  for  the  land."  He  then 
stationed  two  of  his  men  abaft  the  tiller-ropes  on  guard,  and 
the  rest  of  them  went  into  the  cabin,  broke  open  chests,  trunks, 
desks,  etc.,  and  the  lieutenant  came  on  deck  dressed  in  our 
captain's  best  suit  of  clothes  and  watch  in  his  pocket,  and 
then  acknowledged  they  were  pirates. 

We  stood  in  close  to  land,  and  then  tacked  off  shore.  The 
pirates  began  searching  for  luxuries  to  eat  and  drink.  They 
found  a  large  cheese  in  the  store  room,  brought  it  on  deck, 
drew  a  sword,  hacked  it  in  pieces,  threw  part  of  it  in  a  basket 
with  some  hard  bread,  and  set  it  under  the  bow  of  the  long 
boat  for  the  sailors.  We  had  on  board  a  barrel  of  New  Eng- 
land rum,  it  being  the  custom  then  to  allow  the  sailors  grog 
once  a  day  at  sea.  They  filled  a  decanter  and  set  it  on  the 
coops  with  an  invitation  to  all  to  help  themselves.  We  tacked 
on  and  off  shore  all  day,  beating  the  "  Iris  "  down  the  coast  of 
Cuba.  The  pirate  vessel  left  us  in  the  afternoon  in  chase  of 
another  ship  they  saw  in  the  offing.  Our  officers,  sailors  and 
passengers,  by  secret  consultation,  had  agreed  to  suddenly 
seize  the  pirates'  weapons,  as  some  of  them  lay  carelessly  about 
the  deck,  kill  the  pirates  and  run  the  "  Iris  "  into  Mantanzas. 
During  the  afternoon,  Crosby,  the  second  mate,  called  me  into 
the  steerage  and  told  me  the  plan  agreed  on,  which  was  as 
follows : 

We  all  expected  the  "  Iris  "  would  be  anchored  near  the  land 
before  night,  and  the  sailors  sent  aloft  to  furl  the  sails.  When 
they  came  down  all  hands  were  to  rush  on  the  pirates,  seize 
their  weapons  and  kill  or  drive  them  overboard.  Before 
sunset  the  "  Iris  "  was  anchored  near  the  land,  and  the  sailors 
went  aloft  to  furl  sails.  As  they  were  coming  down,  Captain 
Mayo  took  his  station  where  they  would  jump  on  deck,  and  I 


50  Breioster  Ship  Masters. 

stood  by  his  side.  The  pirates,  as  if  mistrusting  our  intentions, 
came  and  stood  near  Captain  Mayo,  and  as  the  men  came  down 
on  deck,  drew  their  swords  and  drove  them  into  the  forecastle. 
They  then  struck  Captain  Mayo  and  told  him  to  go,  too,  and 
also  the  mates  and  passenger,  and  I  followed.  When  we  were 
all  down  they  shut  and  fastened  the  door,  and  placed  a  guard 
on  each  side  the  forecastle  deck.  There  were  eleven  of  us, 
and  the  room  was  small  for  so  many.  The  weather  was  warm 
and  we  nearly  suffocated  for  want  of  fresh  air.  Fortunately 
there  was  a  scuttle  or  hatch  unknown  to  the  pirates,  that 
opened  into  the  lower  hold.  The  captain  took  off  the  hatch 
(our  firewood  was  beneath)  and  stood  on  the  wood,  and  in 
that  position  the  deck  was  nearly  up  to  his  breast.  Now  this 
hatchway  led  into  the  lower  hold,  thence  aft,  and  up  into  the 
cabin  or  on  deck.  All  we  could  hear  of  the  pirates  was  the 
two  on  guard  over  our  heads,  and  every  step  they  took  we 
could  hear  the  clink  of  their  swords.  After  about  an  hour 
the  doors  were  opened  and  they  called  for  the  cook  to  get 
water  for  them.  He  was  afraid  to  go,  but  Captain  M.  told 
him  he  must.  We  begged  them  to  send  us  a  bucket  of  water 
and  they  did.  The  mate  said  there  was  tobacco  in  it,  but  it 
quenched  the  thirst  of  those  who  drank  it.  Soon  we  heard 
some  one  coming  in  the  lower  hold.  The  captain  put  on  the 
hatch  and  stood  on  it.  Then  came  the  voice  of  the  cook, 
crying,  "  Oh,  do  for  God's  sake,  let  me  come  up ;  they  are  going 
to  kill  me ! "  The  captain  said,  "  You  must  not  come  up  ;  the 
pirates  must  not  know  of  this  hatchway."  He  begged  for 
some  time,  but  finally  displaced  the  wood,  lay  down,  and 
hauled  the  wood  over  him.  The  pirates  came  clown  with  lights, 
found  him,  beat  him  with  their  swords  and  drove  him  aft,  but 
did  not  wound  him.  Shortly  after  the  doors  were  again 
opened  and  they  called  for  the  captain.  We  then  expected 
they  were  going  to  kill  all  hands.  We  listened  for  the  sound 
of  his  voice,  but  could  hear  nothing  but  the  clink,  clink  of 
those  guards'  swords.  Then  the  door  was  again  opened,  and 


KONOHASSETT 


Hrewster  Ship  Masters.  51 

they  called  for  the  passenger  and  the  boy.    I  thought  they 
had  killed  the  captain  and  would  kill  me ;  but  Mr.  Greenleaf 
said,  "  Come  along,  I  don't  believe  they  will  kill  us ;  we  must 
go."    We  went  up  and  were  told  by  the  guard  to  go  aft  and 
into  the  cabin,  and  there  I  saw  our  captain  alive,  but  he  had 
been  cruelly  treated  and  his  life  threatened.    The  pirates, 
four  or  five  of  whom  were  in  the  cabin,  ordered  Captain  Mayo 
and  the  cook  to  go  into  the  forecastle.    They  then  searched 
Greenleaf,  took  his  knife,  etc.,  from  him,  showed  him  a  bunch 
of  keys,  and  asked  him,  "  Where  are  the  trunks  these  keys 
belong  to  ?  "    He  answered,  "  In  Baltimore."    They  then  asked 
him,  "Where  is  your  watch?"    He  told  them  he  had  no 
watch.    I  knew  he  had  a  valuable  one.    They  questioned  him 
about  money,  etc.,  and  then  told  him  to  go  into  the  forecastle. 
I  asked  to  go  with  him,  but  they  said, "  No,  you  stop  here."  The 
cabin  was  well  lighted,  and  on  the  table  were  cakes  of  choco- 
late, bread  and  cheese,  a  decanter  of  New  England  rum,  cider, 
etc.     One  pirate  filled  a  tumbler  with  rum,  handed  it  to  me 
and  told  me  to  drink  it.    I  told  him  I  did  not  want  it.    He 
caught  up  a  long  knife  and  said,  "  You  drink."    I  tried,  but  it 
was  so  strong  I  could  only  swallow  a  very  little,  and  put  the 
glass  down.     He  then  asked  me  if  there  were  any  money  on 
board.    I  said,  "  There  is  none  that  I  know  of."    He  seized  me 
by  the  foretop  and  threw  me  back,  caught  up  the  knife  from 
the  table  and  said,  "  Now  tell  me  where  the  money  is  or  I  will 
kill  you."    "Oh! "  I  said,  "don't  kill  me."    He  let  me  up  and 
urged,  "  Come,  tell  me  where  the  money  is."    I  answered  him 
as  before,  and  again  he  seized  me  and  threatened  to  kill  me. 
I  sat  on  my  chest  and  trembled  with  fright,  and  wondered  if  I 
gave  him  my  wallet  it  would  pacify  him.    I  got  up  on  the 
transom,  hauled  out  my  wallet  and  gave  it  to  him.    Instantly 
the  others  sprang  up  on  the  transom,  hauled  everything  out  of 
the  locker,  and  finding  no  money  were  mad,  threw  me  down 
and  placed  the  point  of  the  knife  on  my  head  so  hard  as 
nearly  to  penetrate.    I  cried  out,  "  Oh,  do  n't  kill  me ! "    «  Hush, 


52  JBrewster  /Ship  Masters. 

hush,"  he  said,  and  took  me  by  the  hand,  saying  he  would 
throw  me  overboard.  When  I  cried  out  he  let  me  fall  down 
the  stairs,  and  told  me  to  go  to  bed.  I  crept  away  and  lay 
down  on  the  sails. 

At  daylight  they  called  all  hands  up  from  the  forecastle, 
cut  the  hemp  cable  and  made  sail,  the  pirate  vessel  in  com- 
pany. All  day  we  were  beating  down  the  coast,  and  at  sunset 
sailed  in  between  Stone  Key  and  Point  Jacobs  and  anchored 
and  furled  the  sails.  That  night  the  "  Iris  "  was  crowded  with 
pirates,  going  to  and  from  our  vessel  and  robbing  us  of  every- 
thing. They  drank  freely  of  the  rum  and  quarelled  over  the 
booty.  Our  crew  kept  out  of  their  way  as  much  as  possible, 
some  aloft  and  some  out  on  the  bowsprit.  Captain  Mayo 
called  me,  and  we  crept  under  the  long  boat  and  lay  on  the 
main  hatches. 

At  sunrise  all  hands  were  called.  We  weighed  anchor, 
made  sail  and  ran  the  "  Iris  "  about  three  miles  into  a  bay  and 
came  to  anchor.  We  were  now  in  the  pirates'  rendezvous, 
close  to  the  shore.  They  ordered  the  long  boat  put  overboard 
and  carried  our  cargo  of  axes  and  nails  on  their  vessels.  After 
the  cargo  was  on  their  vessels,  they  ordered  the  long  boat 
stowed  in  her  place.  In  the  afternoon  the  captain  of  the 
pirates  came  on  board  and  told  his  lieutenant  if  he  did  not 
find  money  within  two  hours  to  kill  all  hands  and  burn  the 
brig.  He  then  ordered  me  to  go  in  his  boat  with  him.  I 
objected.  The  order  to  kill  and  burn  was  given  in  Spanish, 
which  one  of  our  men  understood,  and  he  ran  and  told  Captain 
Mayo.  Captain  Mayo  stepped  up  to  the  pirate  captain,  just  as 
he  was  going  into  his  boat,  and  begged  him  to  let  us  have  the 
long  boat  and  spare  our  lives.  He  said,  "  No ;  I  have  money 
or  your  lives."  "I  have  no  money  on  board,"  answered 
Captain  Mayo ;  "but  if  you  will  let  me  go  to  Mantanzas  I  will 
get  you  any  sum  you  may  name."  After  a  moment,  he  said, 
"  Well,  you  may  go  to  Mantanzas.  I  give  you  three  days,  and 
bring  me  $6,000;  if  you  are  not  back  on  the  third  day,  I  will 


Brewster  Ship  Masters.  53 

kill  your  crew  and  burn  the  "  Iris."  That  night  at  dark  they 
gave  him  his  best  suit  of  clothes  and  watch,  and  told  him  to 
get  ready  and  go  on  board  one  of  their  vessels.  The  mates, 
passenger  and  myself  never  expected  to  see  him  again.  He 
said  to  me,  "  If  they  order  you  again  to  go  on  board  of  their 
vessels,  do  you  go,  and  you  will  sometime  have  a  chance  to 
escape."  We  bade  him  good-by.  His  last  words  were,  "  I  shall 
come  back,  whether  I  get  the  money  or  not." 

The  pirates  carried  him  to  the  harbor  of  Mantanzas,  put 
him  on  a  boat  and  sent  him  into  town.  He  first  applied  to  the 
governor,  who  did  not  seem  inclined  to  assist  him.  He  then 
went  to  the  merchants,  but  they  were  not  willing  to  treat 
with  the  pirates,  at  any  rate.  He,  however,  got  together 
$3,000.  The  American  captains  in  port  agreed  to  muster  a 
force,  and  got  together  about  thirty  volunteers  to  go  down 
and  re-capture  the  "  Iris,"  but  these  numbers  were  not  deemed 
sufficient  for  the  undertaking  and  it  was  given  up.  This  was 
the  second  day  since  he  left  the  "  Iris,"  and  the  third  day  he 
was  to  be  back  with  the  money.  Again  he  went  on  shore  and 
tried  to  raise  more  money,  but  with  no  success.  When  almost 
in  a  state  of  despair,  he  saw  a  U.  S.  man-of-war  coming  into 
the  harbor.  He  immediately  went  on  board  of  her.  She 
proved  to  be  the  United  States  schooner  "Alligator,"  Lieut. 
Allen,  with  fourteen  guns  and  well  manned.  Captain  Mayo 
reported  his  situation  and  orders  were  quickly  given,  "  Ready 
about ! "  Captain  Mayo  as  pilot.  On  the  morning  of  the  day 
he  was  to  return  with  the  money,  he  was  at  the  entrance  to 
the  bay  on  the  Alligator,  and  found  four  vessels  at  anchor — 
one  a  pirate  schooner,  the  others  prizes  which  they  had 
captured.  At  sight  of  the  "Alligator"  they  left  their  prizes  and 
took  to  sweeping  into  the  bay,  firing  a  large  gun  as  warning 
to  their  comrades  who  were  guarding  the  "  Iris." 

After  Captain  Mayo  left  us  to  go  to  Mantanzas,  things  went 
smoothly  until  the  morning  of  the  third  day,  when,  shortly 
after  sunrise,  we  were  all  ordered  to  go  below,  and  the  doors 


54  Urcwster  /Ship  Masters. 

closed  upon  us.  Asking  why  we  must  do  so,  the  lieutenant 
said,  "  Merchants  are  coming  from  Mantanzas  to  examine  our 
cargo  and  you  must  not  be  seen."  The  lieutenant  and  all  his 
men  then  left  the  "Iris"  and  boarded  one  of  their  own  vessels, 
which  was  anchored  near  us.  After  awhile,  Crosby,  the 
second  mate,  said,  "  I  'm  going  to  have  a  look  out,"  and  he 
went  up  the  stairs  and  pushed  the  door  ajar,  so  that  we  each 
had  a  lookout.  On  the  deck  of  the  vessel  near  us  we  could 
see  the  men,  merchants  and  pirates.  Suddenly  we  heard  the 
report  of  a  cannon.  Crosby  said,  "  Hark !  That  report  means 
something."  Again  he  pushed  open  the  door.  The  pirates 
were  getting  their  vessel  under  weigh  with  sweeps  out,  and 
the  merchants  were  making  all  speedup  the  bay  in  their  barge. 
Crosby  pushed  the  door  wide  open,  calling  out,  "Come  up, 
come  up.  They  are  all  gone."  We  all  went  on  deck  and  saw 
the  pirate  vessel  sweeping  around  the  Point,  with  three  boats 
in  chase  of  her,  and  soon  they  commenced  a  battle.  We  could 
hear  the  reports  of  the  cannon  and  muskets,  and  see  the 
glistening  of  guns  and  swords.  Some  of  our  men  thought  the 
pirates  were  fighting  each  other ;  others  said,  "  Pirates'  guns 
would  not  glisten  like  that ;  it  must  be  a  man-of-war's  boat." 
Crosby  was  anxious  to  get  nearer,  and  seizing  an  axe  ran  aft 
and  cut  the  lashings  to  the  boat,  saying,  "I  swear  I'll  go 
somewhere."  The  battle  lasted  about  half  an  hour ;  then  boats 
and  schooner  went  out  of  the  bay,  the  other  pirate  schooner 
up  to  the  head  of  the  bay  and  all  seemed  quiet.  "  Now,"  said 
the  mate,  "  let 's  have  some  breakfast.  Bring  up  the  dishes, 
boy,  and  set  the  table  on  the  quarter  deck." 

I  was  just  pouring  out  the  coffee,  when  some  one  said, 
"There's  a  boat  coming  up  the  bay."  Instantly  every  eye 
was  on  her,  and  we  soon  saw  she  was  coming  toward  us. 
Excitement  was  intense.  Our  mate  hailed  the  schooner  "  Mary 
and  Eliza  "  and  asked : 

"  What  do  you  think  of  that  boat  ?  " 

Answer  :     «  We  think  it  an  American  man-of-war's  boat  the 


MONSOON 


Brewster  Ship  Masters.  55 

pirates  have  captured,  and  now  they  are  coming  to  kill  us  all. 
If  you  will  send  for  us  we  will  all  go  on  board  the  "  Iris  "  and 
with  the  ballast  and  kedge  anchor  we  '11  try  to  sink  their  boat." 

Chief  mate  and  one  sailor  sprang  into  our  boat  and  were 
lowered  into  the  water.  They  went  alongside  the  schooner 
and  took  in  her  crew ;  but  instead  of  coming  back  to  us  they 
pulled  for  the  shore.  Crosby  shouted,  "  Come  back,  for  God's 
sake,  and  let 's  all  die  together."  But  they  did  not  heed.  The 
pirate  boat  came  nearer  and  nearer.  I  ran  down  in  the  hold, 
hurried  aft  to  the  stern  post  and  leaning  there  heard  the 
hellish  tumult  on  deck.  I  heard  the  terrible  screams  of  Crosby 
as  he  ran,  with  the  pirates  after  him  cutting  him  till  he  jumped 
overboard.  Then  they  threw  broken  dishes  after  him.  They 
found  the  sailors  in  the  lower  hold,  drove  them  about,  cutting 
and  wounding  them  as  they  begged  for  mercy.  I  could  hear 
every  blow  they  struck,  and  thought  all  would  surely  be  killed. 

Crosby  found  it  hard  to  give  up  and  drown.  He  caught  at 
the  davit  tackle,  climbed  on  deck,  walked  forward  and  said, 
"  Now  kill  me,  if  you  like ;  I  wont  run  any  more  for  you." 
They  told  him  to  get  into  the  boat,  and  made  loud  calls  for 
the  boy. 

The  tumult  lasted  about  fifteen  minutes,  and  then  all  was 
quiet,  except  the  tramp  and  the  Spanish  language  of  the 
pirates.  Suddenly  one  of  them  came  down  near  me,  drew  his 
sword,  and,  seeming  to  look  me  right  in  the  face,  felt  about 
with  his  sword;  but  just  as  I  was  about  to  spring  up,  he 
turned  and  went  on  deck.  I  wondered  if  he  really  did  not  see 
me.  Then  one  of  the  sailors  came  down,  and  I  asked  who  was 
killed.  "  No  one  is  killed,  my  boy,  but  all  are  wounded.  You 
had  better  go  up,  for  they  know  you  are  on  board  and  they 
are  going  to  burn  the  vessel."  So  I  went  up.  Five  or  six 
men  circled  around  me,  clashing  their  swords  over  my  head, 
and  were  greatly  excited  over  me,  some  wanting  to  kill  me, 
others  not  willing  to  kill  a  boy.  They  called  for  powder  and 
then  for  fire.  I  told  them  I  could  not  get  either.  Then  they 


56  JBreweter  Ship  Masters. 

told  me  to  get  into  the  boat.  I  went  to  the  side  and  saw  the 
boat  with  Crosby  in  the  bow,  his  head  badly  wounded  and  the 
blood  running  over  his  face  and  neck.  Greenleaf  stood  by  his 
side  and  some  of  the  sailors  were  there  also.  As  I  came  into 
the  boat  one  of  the  pirates  said  to  me,  "Ah,  ha !  You  no  come 
when  we  call.  Never  mind,  we  fix  you  by  and  by."  Another 
sailor,  a  Swede,  came  into  the  boat,  and  as  he  sat  down  a  sword 
came  whizzing  by  my  ear  and  struck  him  on  the  fleshy  part  of 
his  shoulder,  laying  open  a  long,  deep  gash.  Fearing  I  should 
get  a  blow  next,  I  sprang  up,  intending  to  jump  overboard. 
Then  I  saw  a  slight  commotion  in  the  boat,  and  Crosby  whis- 
pered to  Greenleaf,  "  Now  is  the  time  to  escape ;  whisper  the 
man  next  you  and  tell  him  I  am  going  to  push  off."  The  man 
answered,  "  It  wont  do."  Crosby  cried  out,  "  I  swear  I  '11  do 
it."  He  pushed  off  the  boat,  sprang  aft,  seized  the  pirate  by 
the  throat  and  sent  him  backward  overboard.  One  moment 
later  would  have  been  too  late,  for  the  pirates  were  just  ready 
to  get  into  the  boat.  They  ran  and  got  handspikes, 
buckets,  etc.,  to  throw  at  us,  but  Crosby  seized  a  musket 
and  aimed  it,  saying,  "Now,  damn  you,  fire!"  and  they  all 
dropped  out  of  sight.  We  pulled  away  from  the  brig  as  fast 
as  possible.  We  landed  on  the  Point,  hauled  our  boat  up  on 
the  beach,  took  out  the  ammunition  and  ran  into  the  bushes. 

Crosby  sang  out  for  all  to  return  to  the  boat,  launch  her 
and  keep  close  to  the  shore,  and  if  there  were  any  danger  from 
pirates  to  go  into  the  bushes.  We  kept  near  shore  and  pulled 
for  Mantanzas,  about  thirty -three  miles  off,  we  supposed.  The 
wind  favored  us,  and  the  sailors,  in  spite  of  their  wounds,  took 
their  turn  at  the  oars,  their  gladness  because  of  their  escape 
nerving  them  beyond  their  real  strength.  All  day  we  rowed. 
At  dark  we  entered  the  harbor  of  Mantanzas.  Wishing  to 
avoid  the  Spaniards,  and,  if  possible,  get  on  board  an  American 
vessel,  we  muffled  oars  and  kept  silent.  Soon  there  came, 
"Boat  ahoy!"  We  answered,  "Halloo!"  "What  boat  is 
that?"  We  told  of  our  escape  and  asked  to  go  on  board. 


Brewster  Ship  Masters.  57 

They  called  to  us  to  come  on  board,  and  when  they  saw  the 
blood  on  the  wounded,  the  captain  got  out  his  medicine  chest 
and  dressed  all  the  wounds,  and  then  had  beds  brought  up  on 
deck  under  an  awning,  and  we  all  lay  down  to  such  peace  and 
rest  as  must  be  realized  to  be  appreciated. 

We  will  return  to  the  man-of-war  "Alligator."  You  will 
remember  that  at  the  sight  of  her  the  pirates  left  their  prize 
vessels  and  swept  into  the  bay,  at  the  same  time  firing  a 
cannon  as  warning  to  their  companions.  Captain  Allen, 
finding  that  he  could  not  overtake  them  with  the  "Alligator," 
took  to  his  boats,  selecting  twelve  of  his  best  men  with  Captain 
Mayo  for  his  boat,  Lieutenant  Dale  with  twelve  good  men  for 
a  second  boat,  and  the  gig  with  six  men.  With  this  force 
they  attacked  the  pirates.  Captain  Allen  stood  up  waving  his 
sword  and  cheering  his  men,  while  shot  flew  like  hail  about 
them.  Captain  Mayo  was  paying  his  $6,000  in  powder  and 
ball.  They  took  the  first  vessel  without  loss  of  a  man,  driving 
the  pirates  to  their  boats.  On  nearing  the  next  vessel  Captain 
Allen  was  shot  in  the  head.  Seeing  their  leader  wounded  the 
men  wavered,  but  he  still  cheered  them  on.  Soon  three 
men  were  wounded,  and  they  were  ordered  to  retreat.  On 
the  retreat  Captain  Allen  received  his  death  wound  through 
the  body  and  died  soon  after  on  board  the  "Alligator." 

On  the  afternoon  of  this  day,  Captain  Mayo  with  men  from 
the  "Alligator  "  went  on  board  the  "  Iris,"  but  found  not  a  soul 
on  board  and  expected  every  one  was  murdered.  They  brought 
the  "  Iris,"  together  with  the  whole  fleet,  six  in  number,  all 
under  convoy  of  the  United  States  schooner  "Alligator,"  with 
the  body  of  Captain  Allen  on  board,  got  under  weigh  and 
came  into  the  harbor  of  Mantanzas,  where  Captain  Mayo  was 
much  surprised  to  find  all  his  crew  save  one.  Captain  Allen 
was  buried  in  Mantanzas.  Lieutenant  Dale,  then  captain, 
took  all  the  papers  of  the  vessels  re-captured  by  the  "Alligator," 
and  proceeded  toward  Charleston,  S.  C.,  in  order  to  settle  the 
salvage  with  the  United  States  government.  The  second 


58  JBrewster  Ship  Masters. 

night  out  the  "Alligator  "  ran  on  to  a  reef  on  the  coast  of  Florida 
and  was  lost. 

We  arrived  in  Charleston,  where  Captain  Mayo  bought  a 
musket  and  sword  for  each  man  of  his  crew,  and  then  we 
sailed  for  New  Orleans,  under  convoy  of  the  brig  "  Belvidere  " 
of  Beverly,  Captain  Lampson.  We  kept  with  her  until  past 
Cuba  and  arrived  in  New  Orleans  the  first  of  February,  1823. 

The  death  of  Captain  Allen  caused  the  United  States 
government  to  send  out  a  fleet  of  war  vessels,  which  effectually 
put  a  stop  to  piracy.  THE  CABIN  BOY. 

JEREMIAH  MA  YO. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  January  29,  1786,  and  died  there 
May  2,  1867.  His  granddaughter,  Mrs.  E.  C.  Dugan,  of  St. 
Paul,  Minnesota,  has  very  kindly  loaned  the  following : 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  a  Brewster  man,  having 
spent  a  lifetime  in  his  native  town. 

Jeremiah  Mayo  was  the  son  of  Asa  Mayo  and  Sally  Seabury. 
The  nine  sons  of  Asa  Mayo  measured  55  feet  in  the  aggregate. 
Jeremiah  was  6  feet,  4  inches.  When  14  years  of  age  he  went 
fishing  to  the  Straits  of  Belle  Isle  and  earned  $225  that 
summer.  Previous  to  this  he  had  been  out  of  school  summers 
working  on  the  farm.  His  father  looked  out  that  his  boys  did 
their  share  of  work  in  the  blacksmith's  shop.  Jeremiah  had 
a  forge  of  his  own,  and  when  16  years  of  age  shod  all  the 
horses  that  were  brought  to  the  shop. 

The  spring  after  he  was  18  he  wanted  to  go  with  Captain 
Solomon  Crosby  to  the  Bahamas  for  a  load  of  salt.  His  father 
was  willing,  if  he  would  agree  to  go  a  fishing  voyage  that 
summer  on  his  return  —  he  still  meant  to  make  a  blacksmith 
of  him.  But  the  young  man  was  equally  opposed  to  black- 
smithing  and  fishing.  Accordingly  on  his  return  from  this  six 
weeks'  voyage  he  shipped  with  Captain  Hastings  of  Chelsea, 
who  was  going  a  voyage  to  Marseilles  in  the  ship  «  Sally."  In 


GLORY  OF  THE  SEAS 


£rewster  Ship  Masters.  59 

1804,  he  sailed  with  Captain  Hastings,  and,  being  a  new  hand, 
it  was  left  with  the  captain  to  pay  what  he  judged  was  right. 
At  the  end  of  the  voyage,  he  was  pleased  to  receive  from 
Captain  Hastings  $22  a  month,  which  he  said  was  $2  more 
than  he  paid  any  other  sailor. 

His  next  voyage  was  made  on  an  armed  ship,  the  "  Indus- 
try." They  sailed  up  the  Mediterranean,  stopping  at  the  ports 
of  Malaga,  Leghorn,  Alicant  and  Marseilles.  On  this  voyage 
they  took  out  a  cargo  of  fish,  returning  with  wheat.  On  the 
passage  home,  near  Gibraltar,  they  were  attacked  by  the  Turks 
in  three  lateen  vessels.  This  was  in  1805,  when  the  Algerines 
were  so  troublesome.  This  engagement  lasted  two  hours, 
during  which  Jeremiah  received  a  flesh  wound  in  the  leg. 

During  the  encounter,  the  captain  of  the  "  Industry "  had 
his  leg  shot  off  and  was  left  in  a  hospital  in  Lisbon.  The  man 
was  Captain  Gamaliel  Bradford,  and  his  brother  who  was  first 
mate,  took  charge  of  the  ship  on  her  home  passage.  The 
vessel  sailed  from  Lisbon  to  Dublin,  where  the  cargo  of  wheat 
was  left  and  the  ship  brought  home  in  ballast.  This  was 
called  a  large  ship  in  those  days,  being  of  about  three  hundred 
tons. 

After  remaining  at  home  for  a  few  days,  he  shipped  as 
mate  in  the  brig  "  Salem,"  Captain  Kimball  Clark  in  charge. 
They  sailed  first  to  Amsterdam,  then  to  Cadiz,  returning  to 
Boston  with  a  cargo  of  salt  and  wine.  Soon  after  leaving 
Amsterdam,  Captain  Clark  was  seized  with  colic,  which  was 
followed  by  a  fever,  and  he  was  unable  to  be  on  deck  when 
they  arrived  at  Cadiz.  This  was  Jeremiah's  first  voyage  as 
mate.  The  navigation  was  difficult  in  the  North  sea,  and  the 
second  mate,  his  cousin,  Nathan  Atwood  Mayo,  was  young  and 
had  had  but  little  experience.  Both  mates  were  but  19  years 
of  age.  It  was  a  trying  time  for  the  young  man,  who  came 
out  of  it  with  credit. 

A  second  voyage  as  mate  was  made  with  Capt.  Clark  in  the 
"  Salem,"  when  they  took  a  cargo  of  fish  to  San  Sebastian. 


60  Brewster  Ship  Masters. 

When  two  or  three  days  out  the  brig  sprang  aleak.  The  men 
being  covered  with  salt  water  from  the  seas  breaking  in  upon 
them  from  both  sides,  became  afflicted  with  boils.  Owing  to 
this,  together  with  the  constant  pumping,  much  suffering 
followed.  Capt.  Clark  soon  gave  up  in  despair,  saying  that 
they  would  go  to  the  bottom.  The  mate  asked  if  he  would 
give  up  the  charge  of  the  vessel  to  him.  The  captain  said  he 
would,  for  he  should  not  come  on  deck  again.  The  mate  then 
took  in  sail  and  put  her  under  close  reef  main  topsail.  He 
treated  the  crew  from  a  barrel  of  cider  on  board  and  gave 
them  plenty  of  crackers  to  eat,  for  during  this  time  they  had 
no  opportunity  for  cooking,  subsisting  on  dry  codfish.  They 
were  set  to  pumping.  The  leakage  was  due  to  too  heavy 
a  cargo  and  fish  were  ordered  to  be  thrown  overboard.  As 
many  as  three  '  or  four  hundred  quintals  were  disposed  of  in 
this  way,  the  fish  having  but  to  be  thrown  upon  the  deck, 
when  they  would  be  washed  overboard.  The  leakage  soon 
subsided,  though  it  had  continued  four  or  five  days.  When 
they  arrived  at  San  Sebastian  they  had  to  lay  in  quarantine 
forty  days.  This  was  a  Spanish  custom.  There  was  but  one 
vessel  in  port,  a  brig  from  Philadelphia.  Capt.  Clark  ordered 
the  long  boat  to  be  filled  with  fish  and  to  be  carried  to  that 
brig,  the  money  received  being  paid  over  to  the  mate,  for,  as 
the  captain  said,  it  was  through  his  efforts  that  his  vessel  and 
their  lives  were  saved.  The  sale  amounted  to  $200.  There 
was  not  a  vehicle  of  any  kind  in  San  Sebastian,  all  burdens 
being  carried  upon  the  heads  of  the  men  and  women.  This 
cargo  of  fish  was  taken  off  wholly  by  the  women,  who  brought 
baskets  of  sand,  emptying  them  in  the  vessel's  hold  for  ballast 
to  Bordeaux.  About  sixty  were  employed. 

At  Bordeaux  Capt.  Clark  sold  the  "  Salem  "  and  left  for 
home.  The  mate  remained  with  the  vessel,  for  the  French 
owners  of  the  brig  wished  him  to  take  her  and  run  to  the 
northern  ports  of  France  with  claret  wine.  The  vessel 
cleared,  but  there  being  war  at  the  time  between  France  and 


MARGARET 


JBrewster  Ship  Masters.  61 

England,  permission  would  not  be  given  to  clear  for  a  French 
port.  The  first  day  out  the  "  Salem "  was  boarded  by  an 
English  man-of-war.  The  ship's  papers  appeared  all  right 
and  the  brig  was  allowed  to  proceed  without  molestation. 
She  sailed  by  Brest  and  Ushant,  cleared  for  the  bay  upon 
which  lies  Morlaix,  which  was  the  real  destination  of  the  brig. 
Here  the  cargo  of  wine  was  discharged  and  the  seams  of  the 
vessel  were  covered  with  pitch  as  a  pretense  for  landing 
at  this  port.  On  the  return  to  Bordeaux  the  brig  was  again 
boarded,  but  was  for  the  second  time  released  after  the  plausi- 
ble account  of  leaving  the  cargo  at  Morlaix  for  repairs  to  the 
vessel. 

Claret  wine  was  then  worth  three  or  four  times  as  much  at 
Morlaix  as  at  Bordeaux.  No  Frenchman  thought  he  could 
take  his  dinner  without  claret. 

On  his  return  to  Bordeaux,  Jeremiah  shipped  with  an 
American  captain  as  first  officer  of  the  "  Victoris."  They  went 
to  Poliac,  where  they  loaded  with  a  cargo  of  wine  called 
Medoc.  This  they  took  to  Spain.  They  were  in  Corunna  a 
few  days  after  the  battle  between  the  French  and  English, 
January  16, 1809. 

He  speaks  of  the  prisoners  which  he  saw  then  as  the  most 
wretched-looking  creatures  he  had  ever  beheld. 

On  returning  to  Boston  he  made  arrangements  with  Joshua 
Ellis  to  take  command  of  the  schooner  "  Lawry,"  owned  by 
him,  which  was  then  loading  for  Southern  ports.  He  then 
went  to  Brewster,  where  he  married  as  his  first  wife,  Sally 
Crosby,  on  April  30,  1809.  During  the  years  1809-10  the 
young  Captain  Mayo  made  voyages  in  the  "  Lawry "  to 
Baltimore,  Norfolk,  Edenton,  N.  C.,  Wilmington  and 
Petersburg,  Va.  In  1811,  he  went  to  Baltimore,  whence  he 
sailed  for  Oporto  and  Vigo.  A  second  voyage  was  made  to 
Corunna,  where  he  saw  the  monument  erected  to  the  memory 
of  Sir  John  Moore,  who  fell  in  the  battle.  Early  in  March  he 
sailed  for  Gottenburg,  thence  to  Boston. 


62  Brewster  Ship  Masters. 

The  following  summer,  soon  after  the  declaration  of  war 
between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  he  started  from 
Boston  with  a  crew  for  the  ship  "  Ariadne,"  of  which  he  was 
to  take  command.  The  ship  was  then  at  Baltimore  loading 
with  a  cargo  of  flour  for  Lisbon.  As  the  schooner  entered 
Chesapeake  bay,  soon  after  daybreak,  the  mate  who  was  on 
deck,  rushed  down  stairs  and  roused  the  captain,  saying : 

"  Lynnhaven  bay  is  full  of  frigates." 

There  was  but  a  light  wind  at  the  time  and  they  hoped  to 
escape  the  enemy  by  running  up  the  bay  towards  Baltimore. 
But  they  had  no  sooner  attempted  this  than  a  boat  manned 
by  marines  started  in  pursuit  of  them.  The  captain  armed 
his  crew  and  sent  them  below  with  instructions  to  remain 
there  until  he  called  them,  leaving  but  one  man  and  a  boy  on 
deck  beside  himself.  The  wind  dying  away,  the  enemy 
approached  near  enough  to  reach  them  with  their  guns.  The 
captain  hove  to  and  a  boat  came  alongside  and  took  possession. 
The  British  officer  who  came  on  board  asked  how  many  men 
he  had,  to  which  Capt.  Mayo  replied,  "  one  man  and  a  boy,  as 
you  see."  After  waiting  for  sometime  for  the  wind  to  rise 
that  they  might  take  the  vessel  into  the  bay,  they  departed, 
leaving  only  a  guard  of  three  or  four  men  on  board.  They 
were  becalmed  most  of  the  day  and  towards  night  two  boats' 
crews  were  sent  to  tow  the  vessel  in.  When  the  officer  came 
on  board  Captain  Mayo  called  to  his  crew  to  come  on  deck. 
As  they  filed  up,  one  after  another,  the  officer  shouted  with  an 
oath  of  astonishment,  "  how  many  men  have  you  ?  "  "  Enough 
to  show  you  the  way  to  Baltimore,  if  we  had  been  favored 
with  a  wind,"  was  the  reply.  The  officer  said :  "  I  should  not 
have  blamed  you  if  you  had."  It  was  Captain  Mayo's 
intention,  if  the  wind  had  risen,  to  have  disarmed  the  guard 
and  taken  them  prisoners  to  Baltimore.  Captain  Mayo  was 
taken  on  board  the  British  frigate,  where  he  was  kept  three 
days.  He  then  paid  the  ransom  for  his  vessel  and  was  allowed 
to  proceed  to  Baltimore. 


CAPT.  JEREMIAH  MAYO. 


Brew&tcr  Ship  Masters.  63 

On  reaching  Baltimore  he  received  orders  from  his  owners 
to  by  no  means  attempt  to  evade  the  blockading  squadron, 
news  of  which  had  reached  them  as  guarding  the  entrance  of 
Chesapeake  bay.  This  was  a  great  disappointment  to  the 
captain,  who  believed  he  could  safely  sail  out  of  the  bay  and 
make  his  foreign  voyage.  So,  contrary  to  his  judgment,  he 
had  to  obey  instructions  and  take  his  cargo  over  land  from 
Baltimore  to  New  York,  a  most  difficult  undertaking  on  the 
corduroy  roads,  with  a  most  uncouth  set  of  men  as  teamsters. 
Often  barrels  of  flour  would  be  stolen  during  the  night,  as 
they  were  asleep  under  the  wagons,  some  of  which  they  would 
recover  by  searching  the  following  day. 

In  1812,  a  town  meeting  was  held  in  Brewster,  at  which 
time  delegates  were  appointed  to  attend  the  convention  to  be 
held  at  Yarmouth,  for  the  purpose  of  taking  measures  "relat- 
ing to  the  distresses  of  the  present  war  with  Great  Britain." 
Of  the  ten  men  chosen  to  represent  the  town,  all  were  sea 
captains,  among  whom  was  Jeremiah  Mayo.  It  was  said  that 
at  this  time,  there  was  a  greater  proportion  of  commanders  of 
vessels  in  Brewster  than  in  any  town  of  its  population. 

In  the  spring  of  1813,  Captain  Mayo  went  to  Newburyport 
to  superintend  the  building  of  a  brig,  the  "  Sally,"  and  while 
here  he  visited  Lord  Timothy  Dexter,  the  man  who  made  a 
fortune  by  exporting  warming  pans  to  the  West  Indies. 

Captain  Mayo  went  several  foreign  voyages  to  Liverpool, 
Havre,  Gottenburg,  Stockholm  and  other  places,  in  the  "  Sally," 
taking  out  a  cargo  from  Southern  ports  in  the  United  States 
and  bringing  home  a  portion  of  his  cargo  to  some  port  in  the 
South,  as  well  as  to  New  York  and  Boston.  Once  when  on  a 
passage  home  from  Gottenburg  he  encountered  thick  weather 
after  leaving  the  coast  of  Denmark,  and  was  unable  either  to 
take  an  observation  or  get  a  sight  of  land  before  reaching  the 
ocean,  being  obliged  to  sail  by  dead  reckoning.  He  was 
spoken  by  an  inward  bound  vessel,  who  asked  his  latitude  and 
longitude,  having  been  unable  himself  to  take  an  observation 


64  J3rewster  Ship  Masters. 

for  a  long  time.  Captain  Mayo  replied  that  he  was  off  the 
Stilly  islands.  He  was  asked  when  he  last  verified  his 
position.  Captain  Mayo  said  he  had  not  seen  land  since  he 
left  the  Cattegat.  The  captain  could  hardly  believe  that  he 
could  be  sure  of  his  locality,  but  Captain  Mayo  was  confident, 
and,  on  taking  an  observation  shortly  after,  showed  that  he 
was  correct  and  proved  his  skill  as  a  navigator. 

During  the  time  he  was  in  command  of  a  vessel,  he  never 
lost  a  man  nor  suffered  shipwreck.  He  kept  careful  watch 
himself,  never  trusting  to  his  men. 

While  in  Havre,  about  a  month  after  the  battle  of  Waterloo, 
he  was  interviewd  by  an  agent  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  who 
inquired  if  he  would  undertake  to  carry  the  emperor  to  the 
United  States.  Although  aware  of  the  danger  of  the  enter- 
prise, which  in  case  of  capture  would  result  in  the  confiscation 
of  his  vessel  and  cargo,  he  replied  promptly  that  he  would. 
Soon  after,  he  heard  that  he  had  surrendered  himself  to  the 
British.  If  he  had  taken  him,  he  would  probably  have  reached 
our  coast  in  safety,  for  his  vessel  was  not  spoken  from  the 
time  he  left  Havre  until  he  reached  Boston.  The  "  Sally  "  was 
a  fast  sailer  and  never  encountered  a  vessel  that  could  outsail 
her. 

Captain  Mayo  had  a  great  admiration  for  Napoleon  and  saw 
him  at  Bayonne  on  horseback,  in  1808,  when  he  was  landing 
his  army  in  Spain.  He  was  in  Paris  the  day  of  the  execution 
of  Marshal  Ney,  December  7,  1815,  and  heard  the  shot  fired  in 
the  garden  of  the  Luxembourg.  On  another  of  his  visits  to 
Paris  Lafayette  was  pointed  out  to  him.  The  marquis  was  in 
a  carriage  just  drawing  away  from  the  Hall  of  the  Assembly. 

Captain  Mayo's  vessel  was  one  of  the  first  to  reach  England 
after  peace  was  declared.  The  captain  of  an  English  frigate 
lying  in  port  sent  him  an  invitation  to  dine  with  him  on  board 
his  ship.  He  was  most  courteously  treated.  The  British 
officer  complimented  the  Americans  on  their  skill  and  bravery 
in  naval  engagements.  He  said  that  he  had  heard  that  the 


BRIG  SALLY. 


Brewster  Ship  Masters.  65 

"  Cyanne  "  and  «  Levant "  had  been  captured  by  the  «  Consti- 
tution," and  asked  if  she  had  reached  port  with  her  prizes. 
He  was  told  that  one  had  reached  port  and  the  other  had  been 
re-captured.  The  officer  said  that  it  was  a  daring  and  skilful 
exploit;  he  added  that  he  was  employed  during  the  war  to 
convoy  an  English  fleet  of  vessels  to  Canada.  He  was  well 
prepared  to  resist  an  attack  from  an  equal  force,  but  he  was 
very  thankful  that  he  did  not  encounter  the  enemy,  for 
although  he  might  have  stood  an  equal  chance  of  success  in 
an  engagement,  yet  the  Americans  fought  with  such  despera- 
tion that  there  must  have  been  a  severe  encounter. 

Captain  Mayo  resigned  the  charge  of  the  brig  «  Sally,"  and 
the  owners  secured  the  services  of  Captain  Isaac  Berry,  who 
with  his  wife  sailed  on  her  next  voyage,  from  which  they 
never  returned,  nothing  being  ever  heard  from  the  brig  or 
crew. 

Captain  Mayo  received  a  commission  as  captain  of  the 
Brewster  artillery  company  in  1819  and  as  major  in  1820.  In 
1822,  he  was  commissioned  as  brigadier  general  of  the  third 
brigade,  5th  division,  state  militia,  which  position  he  held  for 
seven  years,  resigning  in  1829.  His  resignation  was  accepted 
by  a  letter,  which  complimented  him  on  the  satisfactory 
manner  in  which  he  had  performed  his  duties  during  the  time 
he  had  held  this  office. 

He  held  a  commission  as  justice  of  the  peace  from  1829  to 
1867,  the  year  of  his  death.  He  was  often  called  upon  to  write 
deeds  and  other  legal  documents,  to  administer  on  estates  and 
to  appraise  the  value  of  property.  He  was  well  read  in  law 
and  his  judgment  on  legal  points  was  held  in  high  esteem.  Of 
the  many  cases  tried  before  him,  while  a  few  appealed  to  a 
higher  court,  in  not  a  single  instance  was  his  decision  reversed. 
He  was  a  licensed  auctioneer  and  was  often  called  upon  to  sell 
woodland  and  other  property  at  auction.  He  was  a  skilful 
surveyor  and  draughtsman  and  attended  to  all  business  of  that 
kind  in  town.  He  was  president  of  the  Brewster  Marine 


66  HrewBter  Ship  Masters. 

Insurance  Co.,  which  gave  him  employment  for  a  number  of 
years.  His  farm  comprised  forty  acres,  with  crops  of  grass, 
potatoes,  corn,  rye,  oats  and  other  cereals. 

He  married  as  his  second  wife  Mary  Paddock  Clark, 
daughter  of  Isaac  Clark  and  Temperance  Sears,  May  2,  1824. 

Mr.  Benjamin  Drew  wrote  in  1881 :  "  General  Mayo  seemed 
to  me  a  man  who  had  seen  a  great  deal  of  the  world.  He  had 
rare  conversational  powers.  Usually  his  talk  was  of  the 
narrative  order,  but  in  narrating  he  would  give  word  pictures 
of  places  and  scenes." 

He  was  interested  and  active  in  town  affairs  up  to  the  time 
of  his  death  in  1867. 

FREEMAN  MA  TO. 

He  was  born  in  Harwich,  now  Brewster,  July  7,  1789.  He 
was  master  of  the  brig  "Iris"  in  1822.  Near  the  coast  of 
Cuba  the  brig  was  chased  and  captured  by  pirates.  Captain 
Mayo  was  allowed  three  days  to  go  to  Mantanzas  to  obtain 
money  to  redeem  the  brig.  He  found  there  the  United  States 
schooner  "Alligator,"  Captain  Allen,  fourteen  guns,  who  sailed 
for  the  « Iris."  In  the  fight,  Captain  Allen  of  the  "Alligator  " 
was  killed.  This  caused  the  United  States  government  to 
send  war  vessels  enough  to  put  an  end  to  piracy  among  those 
islands.  This  story  is  told  at  length  by  Captain  Warren 
Lincoln,  who  was  the  cabin  boy  at  that  time  and  wrote  the 
account  for  the  entertainment  of  his  family. 

Captain  Freeman  Mayo  died  in  Brewster. 

CHARLES  E.  MYRICK. 

He  was  born  in  East  Brewster,  February  2,  1841.  In  1872, 
he  was  master  of  the  brig  "Red  Wing;"  in  1875,  barque 
"Amazon;"  in  1880,  barkentine  "Spotless;"  in  1887,  "Adda 
J.  Bonner;"  in  1890,  barkentine  "Good  News."  These  were 


CAPT.  DAVID  NICKERSON 


JSr&iffSter  Ship  Masters.  67 

in  the  coffee  trade,  sailing  between  Baltimore  and  Rio  de 
Janeiro. 

In  1873,  the  "Red  Wing"  was  dismasted  in  a  severe  hurri- 
cane. The  crew  were  taken  off  the  wreck,  after  drifting  about 
for  five  days,  and  finally  landed  at  Pensacola. 

He  writes  that  he  made  nineteen  voyages  in  the  "Amazon," 
in  the  "  Spotless  "  fourteen,  in  the  "A.  J.  Bonner  "  seven,  and 
in  the  « Good  News,"  since  1890,  thirty-four  voyages  to  Rio 
and  hopes  to  make  a  few  more. 

He  is  now  (1905)  living  in  Baltimore. 

SAMUEL  MYRICK. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  August  13, 1792.  He  commanded 
ships  sailing  to  Mediterranean  ports  and  the  Western  islands, 
names  of  which  we  have  been  unable  to  ascertain. 

He  died  in  Brewster,  August  12, 1843. 

DAVID  NICKERSON. 

He  was  born  in  Chatham,  July  18,  1772.  In  early  life  he 
removed  to  Brewster.  He  had  command  of  the  ships  "  Mon- 
soon "  and  "  Ten  Brothers,"  and  schooner  "  Hope."  He  died 
on  the  passage  from  Africa  to  Boston  on  board  of  the  schooner 
"Hope,"  February  26,  1819. 

DAVID  NICKERSON. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  August  11,  1799.  He  was  master 
of  the  brig  "  Carib,"  in  the  Honduras  trade,  and  others,  names 
unknown.  After  retiring  from  the  sea,  he  settled  in  Boston 
and  established  the  house  of  D.  Nickerson  &  Co.,  engaged  in 
shipping  and  South  American  trade.  At  the  time  of  his  death 
he  was  president  of  the  Mechanics'  Bank. 

He  died  in  Boston,  September  3, 1847. 


68  J3rewst&r  Ship  Masters. 

FRANCIS  F.  NICKERSON. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  March  19,  1817.  He  had  charge 
of  the  bark  "Carib"  and  other  vessels,  names  not  known, 
sailing  between  Boston  and  Honduras. 

He  died  in  Truxillo,  February  6,  1869. 

FREDERIC  NICKERSON. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  December  15,  1808.  He  was  a 
sailor  in  his  early  days,  and  master  of  vessels  in  the  Surinam 
and  South  American  trade  when  quite  young. 

On  retiring  from  the  sea,  he  became  partner  in  the  house  of 
D.  Nickerson  &  Co.,  later  F.  Nickerson  &  Co.,  engaged  in  the 
foreign  and  shipping  trade,  and  was  a  large  ship  owner.  He 
was  much  interested  in  Western  railroads  and  was  a  director 
in  several  of  them. 

When  he  retired  from  the  sea,  he  resided  in  Boston,  and  for 
the  last  twenty  years  made  his  summer  home  in  Brewster. 
He  took  a  great  interest  in  all  town  and  church  matters  and 
contributed  largely  towards  them. 

He  died  in  Boston,  January  12,  1879. 

JONATHAN  S.  NICKERSON. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  March  18,  1807.  He  commanded 
vessels  in  the  South  American  and  Surinam  trade  in  his 
younger  days.  Later  he  was  of  the  firm  of  F.  Nickerson  & 
Co.,  and  was  also  largely  interested  in  Western  railroads. 
Upon  retiring  from  the  sea,  he  removed  to  Boston,  where  he 
died  January  18,  1882. 

JOSEPH  NICKERSON. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  March  3,  1804.  He  had  charge  of 
ship  "Kentucky"  and  others,  whose  names  have  not  been 
ascertained. 


Brewster  Ship  Masters.  69 

After  leaving  the  sea  he  engaged  in  the  ship  chandlery  in 
Boston.  He  was  also  largely  interested  in  Western  railroads. 
He  contributed  generously  towards  the  library  in  Brewster 
and  also  in  support  of  preaching  in  the  Unitarian  church  and 
in  the  care  and  protection  of  the  "Old  Burial  Ground."  On 
retiring  from  the  sea  he  removed  to  Boston,  but  was  always 
interested  in  his  native  town. 

He  died  in  Brewster,  February  28,  1880. 

EBEN  W.  PAINE. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  November  10,  1885.  He  com- 
manded barks  "  Sicilian,"  "  J.  W.  Ropes  "  and  "  Joseph  Ropes  " 
in  the  trade  between  Boston  and  Zanzibar  on  the  coast  of 
Africa.  He  was  for  six  years  agent  for  Messrs.  Ropes  &  Co. 
at  Zanzibar.  He  retired  from  the  sea  in  1886.  He  was  town 
clerk  and  treasurer  for  many  years,  also  treasurer  of  the 
Cemetery  association. 

He  died  in  Brewster,  August  19,  1904. 

REUBEN  PAINE. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  1810.  He  had  command  of  the 
ship  "  Hamilton,"  barks  "  Binney  "  and  "  Wacoma."  He  died 
in  Brewster,  November  18,  1848. 

BANGS  PEPPER. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  June  2,  1806.  He  was  master  of 
the  brig  "Senator"  in  the  West  India  trade  and  of  other 
vessels,  the  names  of  which  we  have  been  unable  to  ascertain. 
He  died  in  Brewster,  April  11,  1885. 

ELISHA  FREEMAN  SEARS. 

The  following  sketch  is  furnished  by  Mrs.  E.  F.  Sears : 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  March  28,  1831.    He  had  com- 


70  Brewster  Ship  Masters, 

mand  of  ships  «  Cape  Cod,"  "  Wild  Ranger,"  «  City  of  Boston," 
"Kentuckian"  and  "Glory  of  Seas,"  and  steamer  "City  of 
Bath "  in  the  transport  service  in  the  Civil  war,  and  steam- 
ships "  Concordia  "  and  "  Erie." 

In  1852,  in  the  "  Cape  Cod,"  he  carried  the  first  load  of  ice 
to  Iquique  and  the  framed  house  for  storing  it.  In  the  "  Wild 
Ranger "  he  made  several  voyages  between  Boston,  the  East 
Indies  and  Europe. 

In  March,  1861,  in  the  "City  of  Boston,"  on  the  passage 
from  Boston  to  Liverpool,  he  saw  the  English  barque 
"Augusta,"  loaded  with  grain  and  leaking  badly  and  flying  a 
signal  of  distress.  Although  it  was  blowing  hard,  he  was  able 
to  take  off  all  the  crew  of  thirteen  men  and  carry  them  to 
Liverpool.  The  "Augusta  "  sank  soon  after  the  crew  left  her. 

In  the  transport  service  in  1862-'63,  he  carried  and  placed  the 
big  gun  called  the  "swamp-angel,"  that  was  expected  to 
re-take  Fort  Sumter,  at  Charleston.  He  was  at  Ship  island 
with  troops  for  General  Butler  at  New  Orleans.  He  was  in 
the  "Concordia"  several  years,  sailing  between  Boston  and 
New  Orleans. 

In  1870,  in  the  steamship  "Erie,"  he  carried  a  valuable  cargo 
of  war  material  to  the  French  at  Brest.  On  the  return  pas- 
sage, via  London,  with  a  number  of  passengers  and  a  large  lot 
of  animals  for  Barnum's  menagerie,  the  propeller  was  lost. 
They  tried  to  come  to  New  York  under  sail.  When  they 
reached  St.  Thomas,  their  provisions  were  nearly  gone  and  the 
last  of  the  flour  was  being  baked.  After  fitting  out  with 
provisions  for  themselves  and  the  animals,  they  sailed  for  New 
York,  where  they  arrived  after  a  passage  of  about  fifty  days 
from  London.  There  were  one  hundred  and  fifty  persons  on 
board,  and  the  provisions  had  to  be  measured  out  carefully. 
There  were  four  large  lions  and  several  tigers.  They  were 
obliged  to  kill  some  of  the  trained  ponies  and  goats  to  feed  the 
valuable  wild  animals. 

Afterwards,   Captain   Sears  was    superintendent  of   the 


CAPT.  JOSEPH  NICKERSON 


JBrewster  Ship  Masters.  71 

Boston  and  Nantasket  excursion  boats,  and  after  1886  he  was 
superintendent  of  Simpson's  patent  dry  dock  at  East  Boston. 

He  lived  in  Melrose  from  1863  to  1869,  and  after  that  in 
Jamaica  Plain,  where  he  died  April  15,  1897. 

J.  HENR  Y  UEARS. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  June  8, 1829.  At  an  early  age  he 
went  to  sea  and  in  1851  had  command  of  the  ship  "Faneuil 
Hall,"  making  voyages  between  the  Atlantic  ports  and  Europe. 

In  1853,  he  commanded  the  clipper  ship  "Wild  Ranger," 
making  two  voyages  to  San  Francisco,  returning  via  Callao. 

In  1855,  he  took  charge  of  the  ship  "  Titan,"  then  engaged 
by  the  French  government  to  take  troops  and  munitions  of 
war  between  French  ports  and  the  Crimea,  during  the  Crimean 
war.  The  ship  was  in  this  business  for  two  years.  After  the 
war,  in  1857,  the  "Titan"  went  to  New  Orleans,  taking  from 
that  port  to  Liverpool  the  largest  cargo  of  cotton  ever  carried 
in  any  ship  previously.  On  entering  the  port  of  Liverpool  in 
a  heavy  gale,  the  ship,  while  in  charge  of  a  pilot,  became 
unmanageable.  She  was  leaking  badly  and  had  so  much 
water  in  the  hold  that  she  would  not  steer.  Her  main  and 
mizzen  masts  were  cut  away,  when  the  ship  righted  and  was 
taken  into  port. 

After  repairs  were  made,  the  "Titan"  took  on  board  1030 
passengers  for  Melbourne,  Australia,  making  a  successful 
voyage.  Thence  to  Callao,  loading  a  cargo  of  guano  for 
London;  but  on  the  passage,  owing  to  heavy  weather  and 
leaking  badly,  she  was  abandoned  in  the  South  Atlantic,  1100 
miles  east  of  the  coast  of  Brazil.  The  crew  took  to  the  boats, 
intending  to  reach  the  coast  near  Rio  de  Janeiro,  but  were 
taken  off  by  a  French  ship,  after  being  in  the  boats  for  a 
week,  and  landed  at  Pernambuco. 

Later,  Captain  Sears  commanded  ship  "  Franklin  Havan  "  in 
the  Australia  and  California  trade,  leaving  her  in  San  Fran- 
cisco in  1861.  He  retired  from  the  sea  at  that  time. 


72  ^Brewster  Ship  Masters. 

In  1863,  he  was  engaged  in  the  shipping  business  in  Boston 
as  partner  in  the  firm  of  J.  Henry  Sears  &  Co.,  acting  as 
agents  of  ships  and  steamers  to  Southern  ports  and  Liverpool 
and  London. 

He  retired  from  active  business  in  1898,  and  moved  to 
Brewster,  where  he  has  a  summer  home.  During  his  business 
life  he  resided  in  Dorchester.  He  is  now  (1905)  president  of 
the  Cape  Cod  Pilgrim  Memorial  association. 

JOSEPH  HAMELEN  SEARS. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  November  9,  1801.  As  a  boy  he 
worked  on  the  farm  and  in  the  making  of  salt.  He  was 
engaged  in  the  packet  service  between  East  Dennis  and  Boston 
and  was  mate  and  captain  of  the  packets  "Combine"  and 
"David  Porter"  for  several  years,  and  after  that  master  of 
schooners  "Atlas  "  and  "  Cornelia  "  in  the  coasting  trade.  His 
last  voyages  were  in  the  ships  "Asia,"  "Faneuil  Hall"  and 
"  Expounder  "  in  the  foreign  trade.  While  in  command  of 
the  "Faneuil  Hall "  at  New  Orleans,  he  was  invited  to  go  on  a 
trial  trip  of  a  new  tugboat,  the  "Anglo  Norman,"  just  built 
there.  About  one  hundred  and  thirty  invited  guests  were  on 
the  steamer.  She  steamed  for  about  twenty  miles  up  the 
Mississippi  river,  then  turned  and  started  to  come  down  to  the 
city.  Just  before  reaching  New  Orleans,  while  under  full 
steam,  the  boilers  exploded,  completely  wrecking  the  upper 
part  of  the  boat.  There  were  about  forty  of  the  guests  either 
killed  or  blown  overboard.  Captain  Sears  escaped  all  injury. 

He  retired  from  the  sea  in  1855. 

He  was  treasurer  of  the  First  church  for  many  years,  and 
trustee  of  Brewster  cemetery,  and  was  always  interested  in 
the  improvements  of  the  town.  He  always  lived  in  Brewster 
and  died  there  February  3,  1885. 

FREEMAN  SNO  W. 
He  was  born  in  Brewster,  October  26, 1826.    He  commanded 


CAPT.  ELISHA  F.  SEARS 


Brewster  Ship  Masters.  73 

ship  "John  M.  Mayo"  in  the  foreign  trade.  He  was  for 
several  years  master  of  steamers  "  Oriental "  and  "Alhambra," 
sailing  between  Boston  and  Prince  Edwards  island  and  Halifax, 
and  also  between  Boston  and  New  Orleans.  His  last  command 
was  the  ship  "  Electra  "  in  the  East  India  trade. 
He  died  in  Brewster,  July,  1895. 

JOSEPH  SNO  W. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  1830.  He  was  master  of  ships 
"Antelope  "  and  "  Stephen  Brown  "  and  brig  "Annette."  He 
was  in  charge  of  the  "Stephen  Brown,"  on  the  passage 
outward  from  New  York  in  January,  1856,  and  was  never  again 
heard  from. 

OB  ED  SNOW. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  September,  1795.  He  always 
lived  in  Brewster,  but  the  names  of  the  vessels  he  commanded 
are  not  known.  He  died  in  July,  1865. 

JONATHAN  THACHER. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  1793.  He  commanded  the  ship 
"  Valhalla  "  and  several  others,  the  names  of  which  cannot  be 
ascertained.  He  died  in  Brewster,  April  20,  1853. 

ALBERT  WIN  SLOW. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  January  23, 1841.  He  had  charge 
of  the  ship  "  White  Swallow."  After  retiring  from  the  sea, 
he  engaged  in  the  ship  chandlery  business  in  Boston,  where  he 
is  now  living  (1905). 

ELKANAH  WINSLOW. 

He  was  born  in  Brewster,  December  11, 1802.  In  1844,  he 
was  master  of  the  schooners  "Combine,"  "Vinton"  and 


74  Erewster  Ship  Masters. 

"Watchman,"  all  in  the  West  India  trade.  Later,  he  had 
charge  of  the  barque  "Sabra."  While  in  charge  of  the 
"Sabra,"  he  died  at  Manzanilla,  Mexico,  July  4,  1851,  and  was 
buried  there. 


CAPT.  J.  HENRY  SEARS 


REMINISCENT. 


THERE  is  an  old  saying  somewhere  that  "  he  who  travels 
much  learns  much."  It  used  to  mean  more  than  it  does  now. 
When  people  moved  but  little  from  their  own  firesides  in 
their  own  districts,  when  railroads  were  unknown  and  ships 
moved  by  the  power  of  the  winds  of  heaven,  when  to  go  a 
hundred  miles  meant  some  danger  to  life  and  limb,  he 
who  travelled  learned  of  other  lands  and  other  peoples, 
and  he  who  staid  at  home  learned  nothing  of  either  but  such 
as  came  to  his  fireside.  The  newspaper,  if  there  was  one,  told 
of  the  doings  of  the  town  and  somewhere  on  its  four  small 
pages  gave  a  column  to  the  news  of  the  world  brought 
in  by  the  last  packet. 

It  would  probably  be  impossible  today  for  any  one  of  us, 
who  has  begun  to  think  for  himself  since  the  introduction 
of  electricity  and  steam,  to  imagine  just  what  the  broadening 
influence  of  journeys  to  Europe  and  Asia  meant  before  those 
first  days  began.  The  only  way  to  get  an  idea  of  the  mental 
situation  is  to  project  yourself  into  some  little  hamlet  where 
there  is  no  newspaper,  where  the  railway  engine  does  not  sound, 
and  to  talk  with  the  man  who  is  fifty  and  who  has  never  been 
ten  miles  from  his  own  door.  He  does  not  know  who  is 
President  of  the  United  States.  He  has  not  heard  of 
the  Spanish  war.  His  mind  is  quiet  and  asleep.  As  a  man  he 
is  just  as  fine  in  character,  his  thoughts  wander  as  widely, 
his  ambitions  soar  as  high  while  he  works  in  the  fields.  But 
he  knows  nothing  of  contemporary  events  the  world  over. 

Let  some  one  of  these  men  go  around  the  world,  taking 
a  year  for  it,  and  then  return  to  the  little  out-of-the-way  town 
by  stage;  and  for  another  year  he  will  sit  in  the  corner  grocery, 
night  after  night  around  the  fire,  or  on  the  porch  with 


76  JBrewster  Skip  Masters. 

his  chair  tipped  back  against  the  side  of  the  house,  telling  the 
others  something  absolutely  new  every  time  he  opens  his 
mouth.  If  he  was  observant  on  his  travels,  he  learned 
an  immense  amount  and  his  talks  are  such  an  education  to  his 
friends  as  was  never  taught  from  books. 

That,  to  a  greater  or  a  lesser  degree,  as  you  hit  upon 
an  earlier  or  a  later  day  in  New  England,  was  what  happened 
when  a  young,  naturally  clever,  energetic  man  came  home  from 
his  long  sea  voyage  from  Hong  Kong  to  his  Cape  Cod  town. 
The  women  of  his  household  wore  the  prim  clothes  of  their 
neighborhood.  He  told  of  the  nations  he  had  seen  where  the 
women  went  without  clothes — much  to  the  embarrassment  of 
these  women  folks  and  to  their  absolute  unbelief.  Still  more. 
He  brought  home  dresses  from  India  and  China,  Japan  and 
Europe — all  different,  all  beautiful,  all  suggestive  of  something 
entirely  new  and  strange.  He  told  of  hundreds  of  little  things, 
yet  he  could  never  tell  of  what  he  had  learned  and  seen  and 
adapted  to  himself.  He  could  never  give  anyone  else  all  that 
he  had  taken  into  his  mind  by  the  agency  of  his  five  senses. 

These  men  who  grew  up  in  such  towns  as  Brewster  were 
the  men  of  energy  of  New  England.  They  were  ready 
to  create,  to  build  up  their  own  fortunes,  and  in  doing  so  they 
built  up  the  fortunes  of  their  town. 

It  is  interesting,  perhaps,  to  see  what  they  did  for  this 
country  of  ours  in  those  early  days.  New  England,  like  the 
rest  of  the  Atlantic  coast,  was  full  of  the  spirit  of  religious 
belief  handed  down  as  an  inheritance  from  our  ancestors.  To 
study  and  become  a  clergyman  was  the  ideal  of  educated  life. 
But  in  the  midst  of  the  hereditary  ambition  to  refinement, 
soldiering  and  high  living,  these  energetic  young  men  began 
to  go  out  from  their  homes  down  to  the  sea  in  their  ships, 
and  in  due  time  they  came  back  with  new  ideas.  It  began  to 
appear  that  these  men  had  the  new  things  of  the  town.  They 
were  the  men  who  were  turned  to  for  opinions.  They  were 
the  individuals  who  were  turned  to  for  news.  They  were 


CAPTAIN  JOSEPH   H.  SEARS 


Brewster  Ship  Masters.  77 

the  people  who  gradually  began  to  gather  in  the  worldly 
goods  of  that  part  of  the  country. 

Furthermore,  as  they  arrived  in  other  parts  of  the  world 
and  discharged  their  cargoes,  it  became  necessary  to  look  for 
shiploads  of  other  goods  to  bring  home  on  the  return  voyage. 
Again  and  again  the  return  cargoes  depended  entirely  on  the 
ability  and  judgment  of  the  Cape  Cod  sea  captain,  who 
perhaps  had  now  grown  to  own  an  interest  in  his  vessel.  He 
was  the  sole  judge  as  to  whether  tea  or  silk,  coal  or  manu- 
factured goods,  were  to  bring  the  highest  prices  in  New 
England  and  make  his  voyage  produce  the  highest  profit. 
These  men  became  the  commercial  pioneers  of  the  day.  They 
gambled  on  cargoes,  and  sometimes  in  those  days  fortunes 
were  made  on  a  single  voyage.  In  a  way  these  were  the 
forerunners  of  the  Americans  who  have  put  our  country 
at  the  head  of  the  nations  in  wealth — the  men  who  conceived 
big  commercial  ideas  and  carried  them  out,  who  later  built 
railroads  across  the  continent  and  laid  telegraph  wires 
under  the  sea. 

Some  of  the  stories  of  these  ventures — gambles  they  were 
really,  just  as  they  are  today — are  always  new  and  interesting, 
though  they  are  so  familiar  to  us  all — of  the  sometime 
captain  who  suddenly  conceived  the  extraordinary  idea  of 
sending  a  shipload  of  New  England  warming  pans  to  the 
West  Indies,  to  the  unbounded  amusement  of  his  townsmen ; 
and  who  made  a  fortune  out  of  the  cargo,  because  on  its 
arrival  in  a  place  where  cold  was  never  known  the  pans 
commanded  fabulous  prices  as  utensils  for  boiling  out  sap  from 
sugar  cane.  Or,  of  the  New  Englander  who  sent  a  shipload 
of  babies'  cradles  to  California,  around  the  Horn,  in  '48  and 
sold  them  at  wonderful  prices  to  serve  as  "  rockers  "  for  gold 
mining,  just  as  the  first  furor  of  '49  began.  Or,  still  again, 
of  the  idea  of  sending  ice  to  the  tropics  where  such  a  thing 
was  never  heard  of  before  and  where  profits  of  thousands  per 
cent,  were  made. 


78  JSrewst&r  Ship  Masters. 

Such  men  and  many,  many  others,  among  them  those 
of  Brewster,  were  the  originators  of  new  ideas  in  commerce, 
because  they  saw  how  different  were  the  conceptions  and  ideas 
of  other  peoples  and  how  easily  one  might  broaden  and  learn 
and  try  new  ventures  suggested  by  the  adaptation  of  foreign 
ideas  to  the  demands  of  their  native  land.  You  have  found 
as  you  have  read  these  biographies  that  precede  in  this  volume 
hints  of  such  men  and  what  they  did  in  their  own  quiet  way. 
They  thought  and  knew  so  little  of  what  influences  they  were 
exerting  in  their  communities  that  hardly  any  of  them  ever 
considered  it  worth  while  to  keep  any  record,  except  the  log 
of  the  voyages.  But  many  of  us  can  remember  back  in 
the  early  days  of  our  childhood,  which  ran  from  the  second 
to  the  seventh  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century,  that  our  first 
ideas  of  the  life  these  men  led  was  gathered  from  those  tales 
of  shipwreck  and  fight  and  struggle  with  man  and  the 
elements,  which  came  out  now  and  then  of  an  evening 
just  before  bedtime  when  the  family  sat  about  the  fire.  Some 
of  us  small  ones  sat  on  the  sailor's  knee  and  heard  how 
at  seven  bells  we  saw  the  old  ship  go  down  under  full  sail,  in 
latitude  This  or  That,  the  wind  then  blowing  lightly  from  the 
southeast,  the  mate's  boat  with  eight  men  to  the  northward 
and  the  second  mate's  boat  with  seven  nearby.  And  then  how 
for  weeks  and  weeks  we  ate  what  little  we  had  and  sucked 
the  water  from  rain  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat  out  of  an  old 
sponge,  until  in  other  latitudes  and  longitudes  the  good  ship 
Something  hove  in  sight  and — here  we  are  safe  and  sound. 

They  were  real  stories  of  the  sea  from  the  lips  of  the  man 
who  went  through  the  episodes.  They  were  all  in  the  first 
person,  except  where  the  M I "  was  not  at  home  now  to  tell  of 
it  himself,  because  he  had  never  been  seen  again.  So  many  of 
that  kind  there  were,  too— of  Captain  Ben  This  and  John 
That,  who  cleared  the  port  of  Liverpool  or  San  Francisco  or 
Shanghai  on  the  10th  of  February  and  went  to  the  port  from 
which  nobody  ever  «  clears  "  again.  That  was  all  they  heard 


TUG  ANGLO  NORM AM. 


Brewster  Ship  Masters.  79 

in  those  days.  What  things  the  wives  and  mothers  must  hare 
read  between  the  lines  of  that  wordless  record ! — the  storm, 
the  collision,  the  rocks,  and  finally  the  suffering  and  end 
wheref rom  no  one  of  the  ship's  crew,  no  stick  nor  timber  of  the 
good  ship,  was  ever  even  reported  by  anyone  anywhere,  except 
in  the  big  Eternal  Log. 

That  life,  that  breed  of  the  earth's  children,  developed  its 
part  of  the  country  and  made  it  the  home  of  industry  and 
brains.  The  descedants  moved  in  time  westward  and  have 
made  now  the  great  Northwest  and  northern  Mississippi 
Valley  the  centre  of  the  creative  energy  of  our  land.  They 
were  literally  the  original  Captains  of  Industry.  They 
invented  the  term.  And  the  Captains  of  Industry  today 
are  their  lineal  descendants. 

There  are  no  young  sea  captains  today  hailing  from  Cape 
Cod  or  New  England  of  the  same  type  as  those  men  told  of  in 
this  book.  Not  because  the  breed  is  dead,  but  because 
the  occasion  for  them  in  that  line  of  the  world's  work 
has  passed ;  because  steam  and  electricity  have  done  away 
with  all  such  industry  and  the  same  brains  have  turned  into 
more  up-to-date  channels.  You  often  hear  a  complaint  at  the 
disappearance  of  the  sea  captains — how  sad  a  fact  it  is  that 
they  are  gone.  They  are  not  gone.  They  have  merely  become 
captains  of  other  industries  more  in  keeping  with  the  times. 
They  have  adapted  themselves  to  the  new  and  better 
industries  of  later  days.  And  it  would  seem  that  this 
is  a  cause  for  rejoicing  instead  of  complaint.  Cape  Cod  itself 
has,  to  be  sure,  little  or  none  of  the  bustle  of  other  days.  But 
the  energy  is  somewhere  else  and  just  as  strong  or  stronger 
because  of  the  foundations  these  shrewd,  active  men  laid  in 
their  time.  Cape  Cod  itself  is  not  at  this  moment  fitted  to  be 
a  scene  of  this  day's  energy,  but  just  as  sure  as  the  years  pass, 
its  day  will  come  again.  And  in  the  meantime  it  has  earned 
an  honored  and  well  deserved  rest  from  its  labor,  to  prepare 
for  another  day  that  is  to  come. 


80  Brewster  Ship  Masters. 

But  the  fine  old  record  of  the  real  men  ought  to  live,  and  so 
far  as  the  meager  records  can  be  discovered  they  have  been 
gathered  together  for  that  purpose. 

JOSEPH  II.  SEARS. 

New  York,  February  5,  1906. 


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